An international team of scientists, publishing their results in the journal Nature Geoscience, has revealed the secret of a thin layer at the edge of the Earth’s core. This layer, whose thickness does not exceed several hundred kilometers, has caused many questions among scientists for decades.

The study showed that Earth’s surface waters can penetrate deep, affecting the composition of the outer part of the planet’s liquid metal core. Over billions of years, water seeped into the Earth’s interior through tectonic plates, reaching the core-mantle boundary about 3,000 kilometers below the surface. Here it chemically reacts with the materials of the core, leading to the formation of a hydrogen-rich and silicon-depleted layer.

These results obtained during experiments carried out under high pressure show that a film structure is formed in the upper part of the outer core, which causes the formation of silica crystals. Ascending into the mantle, these crystals change the density of the liquid metal layer and seismic velocities; This is consistent with anomalies previously detected by seismologists.

Dan Shim, one of the leading researchers, said: “This discovery transforms our understanding of the interaction between the Earth’s core and the mantle. Our research shows that this interaction is more important and dynamic than we thought.”

The study opens new horizons for understanding the Earth’s internal mechanisms and their impact on geochemical cycles on a global scale. Source