Deep beneath the earth, more water than in all the oceans combinedt
In the remote and forested terrain of Juina in western Brazil, an ugly rock with an uglier name surfaced months ago inside a diamond mine. It was a tiny green crystal, all scars and bumps. It �literally look[ed] like [it had] been to hell and back,� one scientist said in March. But despite the provenance, the ringwoodite stone wasn�t scorched � it was, in fact, sopping wet. Providing an unparalleled glimpse into the our planet�s innards, the stone rode a violent volcanic eruption to the surface from 325 miles inside the Earth�s mantle. �The eruption � is analogous to dropping a Mentos mint into a bottle of soda,� Graham Pearson, a geochemist at the University of Alberta, told LiveScience. �It�s a very energetic, gas-charged reaction that blasts its way to the Earth�s surface.� It was one of the first times anyone had seen the sponge-like ringwoodite in anything but a meteorite or a laboratory. Formed only in conditions of extreme pressure, it is composed of 1.5 percent water and appeared to confirm that the Earth�s insides are very, very wet. �It translates into a very, very large mass of water, approaching the sort of mass of water that�s present in all the world�s ocean,� Pearson said.Study: Deep beneath the earth, more water than in all the oceans combined - The Washington Post