A team of researchers has developed an innovative technological platform that was able to simulate the conditions existing 660 kilometers underground, where the pressure reaches 23-32 GPa and the temperature ranges from 1273 to 2100 K.
According to scientific data, the Earth 4.6 billion years ago was not like it is today. As a result of frequent collisions with other celestial bodies, its surface and interior were filled with molten oceans of magma, which prevented water from existing in a liquid state and made the emergence of life impossible. As the magma ocean cooled, it crystallized into solid minerals, forming the mantle.
Bridgmanite, the mineral that forms first in the mantle, makes up more than half of its composition. It acts as a "container for storing water," and its ability to retain moisture determines how much water can be transferred from magma to the solid part of the Earth.
Recent studies show that minerals can hold significantly more water at elevated temperatures. This discovery suggests that during the peak temperatures of the "magma ocean," bridgmanite could have captured and retained much more water than previously thought.
The crystallization model created based on experimental data demonstrates that after the solidification of the magma ocean, the lower mantle became the largest reservoir of water in the solid mantle, with a storage potential that could exceed previous estimates by 5 to 100 times.
