New Ocean discovered inside Earth

[Bravo]

Scientists scanning the deep interior of Earth have found evidence of a vast water reservoir beneath eastern Asia that is at least the volume of the Arctic Ocean.

The discovery marks the first time such a large body of water has found in the planet’s deep mantle.

http://www.livescience.com/environment/070228_beijing_anomoly.html

[billythrilly7th]

Cool?

:Shrug:

[Bravo]

it's where atlantis is hiding.

[billythrilly7th]

I smell a Michael Bay film.

[Miguelito]

What a stupid and misleading headline by Livescience. It's not an ocean.

What they mean is that the mantle under Asia has "a lot" of water mixed in with it, relatively speaking (for the most part, the mantle is considered to be very dry). I would bet that, there, we're talking about less than 1% volume of water. But there's so much volume that, even at 1%, there's more water there than in the Arctic Ocean.

[Bravo]

What a stupid and misleading headline by Livescience. It's not an ocean.



aquaman rules over it, therefore it is an ocean.

[Robert Toy]

The more coomon name(s) are mud or clay :D

[Miguelito]

aquaman rules over it, therefore it is an ocean.

I've always wondered how Aquaman would taste battered and fried.

[Susan Gable]

I've always wondered how Aquaman would taste battered and fried.

With tatersauce. Don't foget the tartersauce. :)

Susan G.

[Voyager]

What's the difference between a mantle and a water table like the one that the Yucatan sits on?

[blacbird]

What a stupid and misleading headline by Livescience. It's not an ocean.

What they mean is that the mantle under Asia has "a lot" of water mixed in with it, relatively speaking (for the most part, the mantle is considered to be very dry). I would bet that, there, we're talking about less than 1% volume of water. But there's so much volume that, even at 1%, there's more water there than in the Arctic Ocean.

You beat me to it, Miguelito. So I'll just put my second on what you said. Real stoooooopid headline.

caw

[robeiae]

With tatersauce. Don't foget the tartersauce. :)

Susan G.Tatersauce is ketchup (or whipped cream, depending on the "tater"). Tartersauce is good for fried fish.


:D

[blacbird]

What's the difference between a mantle and a water table like the one that the Yucatan sits on?

The earth's mantle is a region below the crustal rocks and above the core, which is semi-molten and semi-fluid. Volcanic magmas arise from the mantle.

A "water table" is simply the upper boundary of the zone of crustal rocks and soil which is saturated by water. It's usually not very deep; in my yard it normally lies at about two inches.

caw

[Miguelito]

What's the difference between a mantle and a water table like the one that the Yucatan sits on?

What blacbird says. But I like diagrams.

http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/4448/mantlejt3.gif

The earth is like an onion, with many different layers. The innermost is the core, which is divided into inner (solid Nickel and Iron) and outer (liquid). Wrapped around the core is the mantle (to answer your question), which is divided into inner (plastic-liquid) and upper (mostly plastic with an upper rigid portion). Wrapped around that is the crust, which is what we see and walk around on every day. It, of course, is rigid (but behaves plastically at depth).

http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/927/unconfinedql4.jpg

The water table is a near-surface feature associated with groundwater. When it rains, water trickles into the ground through the pore spaces in the sediment or rock. Gravity pulls the water down where it collects at depth. Eventually, enough water collects so that the ground is said to be saturated. Below the water table, the ground is saturated. The water table can be at surface to hundreds of feet deep.

There is no "communication" between water in the mantle and any water table. They're two completely different things.

[Robert Toy]

The earth's mantle is a region below the crustal rocks and above the core, which is semi-molten and semi-fluid. Volcanic magmas arise from the mantle.

A "water table" is simply the upper boundary of the zone of crustal rocks and soil which is saturated by water. It's usually not very deep; in my yard it normally lies at about two inches.

caw
Mud!

[clintl]

Tatersauce is ketchup (or whipped cream, depending on the "tater"). Tartersauce is good for fried fish.


:D

Tartersauce isn't good for anything.

[Voyager]

Thanks Miquelito and Blacbird. You know, my kids studied all this stuff in school and I find it fascinating, but I don't remember learning anything about plate tectonics or any of this stuff in science class. All I remember is the plant crap that bored me to tears. Then again, I might have been asleep.

[Voyager]

You know, I've always wondered too, in a place like the small island of Cozumel with its underground rivers and massive water table, how does the ground support large buildings and stuff? I know my questions are sophomoric and you can send me to read a book if you want.

[skelly]

Miguelito...awesome. Thanks for that explanation :)

But there is a subterranean ocean. Several of them. Strange people live on islands that dot the subterranean world. I can hear them singing from the drain in my bathroom sink.

:)

[GeorgieB]

I smell a Michael Bay film.


Or another Dirk Pitt, NUMA fantasy.:ROFL:

[Miguelito]

You know, I've always wondered too, in a place like the small island of Cozumel with its underground rivers and massive water table, how does the ground support large buildings and stuff? I know my questions are sophomoric and you can send me to read a book if you want.

Yeah. It can be a problem. So people are careful where they build. You can run seismic surveys (using small charges to blast the ground and listen for the echoes) or drill holes to see what you're building on. Rock, when thick enough, is pretty strong stuff. Sometimes, it's not enough (sinkholes swallowing buildings and roads).