Jack Millard Earth
Science
3-13-14 C.E.
Koebler,
Jason. "Motherboard Motherboard." Motherboard. Vice World
News, 12
Mar. 2014.
Web. 13 Mar. 2014.
http://motherboard.vice.com/en_uk/read/theres-an-ocean-deep-inside-the-earth?trk_source=homepage-rotator2
“There's an Ocean Deep
Inside the Earth”
Deep in the earth (about 400km) past
the crust and the upper mantle, but before the lower mantle lays an unknown
zone that scientist dubbed “the transition zone.” The composition of this area
in our earth has been debated but there is no solid evidence supporting what it
is made of until now. Graham Pearson, a diamond expert, found an insignificant
3mm brown diamond while in Brazil. This seemed insignificant until he and his
team found ringwoodite inside the diamond. Ringwoodite is a gemstone that
occurs when olivine becomes superheated and compressed, but when it is brought
to more stable conditions, it reverts back into olivine. Ringwoodite is formed
in the location of the transition zone and was brought up by volcanic activity.
Even more astonishing was that 1.5 percent of the ringwoodite was made up of
trapped water. This lead Pearson to suggest that the only way for this to
happen was for there to have been a significant amount of water, deep below the
earth. So much so, that the entire transition zone could be an enormous ocean.
The reasoning behind this is that there would need to be a very large amount of
water for this to occur. There can be no explanation for how the water was
trapped with the ringwoodite inside the diamond that doesn’t involve water
being 410-600km beneath our surface, so either way, there is water down there. It
was a complete miracle that this was discovered before the ringwoodite turned
back into olivine, for if it did, the discovery may have never been made at
all.
This new discovery impacts the
entire field of science, mostly in geology and biology. If there are oceans
beneath our oceans, then we would have to reshape our whole theory of what lies
under the surface of our planet. This information could lead to many new
discoveries under in this giant, underwater ocean. One of these could be new
life, living in this ocean of heat and high pressure. This could also work as a
way to bring water to areas of our planet that desperately need it. If this
could be taped, we could create farmland in the middle of deserts or bring
clean water to areas that have none. Hopefully in the near future we will have
the technology to dig that deep and discover what’s down there and hopefully
use it to our advantage. I chose this article because it is very current, and
could be one of the most important discoveries of all time.
In my opinion the article was very
professionally written and gave a good sense of knowledge on the topic however,
there are a few things that I would have changed. The article did lack
information in the area of general knowledge. I would have wanted to read more
about the process of how the substances worked together to form this way. I
would have also like to have seen theories of how the ocean could have existed
yet be undetected for so long. Finally the article lacked information on how an
ocean under the earth would have impacted us and what that meant for the world.
All in all however, the article was great at being short and concise while
delivering an extremely important story in a way that anyone could understand.
ringwoodite inside dimond
This article was very fascinating for me to read. I really enjoyed learning about this "ocean" that could exist between the layers of the earth. What was well presented in this review was the summary you wrote out for the article you chose. I was not too long or too short, it was the perfect amount for the reader to understand what the article was about. Next, you used a lot of really nice vocabulary, making it sound like this review was professionally written! The good use of vocal also made the review have a really nice flow to it too. And a final aspect was that when it came to the paragraph about what it had to do with the field of science, you came up with very creative ideas and great predictions along with it.
ReplyDeleteI was really impressed with the article you chose because it was clearly not boring at all, it was extremely interesting and fun to read. The picture you included was also a very nice touch of what it deep in this ocean in the earth. I was also very impressed with the amount of detail you put in because it really sounded like you read the article and put a lot of thought into the review.
I think one thing that could be improved is how you started the review. For example, you could have started with "the article i chose was..." But overall it was a very interesting read and i enjoyed it.
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ReplyDeleteYou did a great job presenting the evidence of an underground ocean. I thought you presented the information about the Ringwoodite gemstone very well. Especially, the process that olivine has to go through to become Ringwoodite. How significant it is that this was found in the area known as the transition zone. Along with the description of the Ocean that is inside the transition zone. As well as the impact that this discovery has on the entire field of science. Especially the idea that we could use this water to solve our world problems. I also like how you went into the idea that there could be life in this new ocean.
ReplyDeleteI found the entire theory quite interesting actually. The possibility of life under our crust is amazing and the possibilities are endless. Along with the idea that we could use this water to give to water deprived nations could solve one of our major world problems. I was wondering if we could somehow use this new source of water as a step toward a solution to renewable energy.
I thought you explained the article very well along with putting your ideas in for what this could mean for the field of science. I think you could have explained the minerals that were in the diamond a little better.
Well written report Jack. There is a glaring error in your citation, which indicates that your article is entitled "Motherboard Motherboard" which I found a bit odd, but other than that it was a smooth and polished piece.
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing that scientists can find evidence of entire oceans hiding under the surface of the earth from the discovery of a tiny mineral in a single diamond. In fact, I am a bit skeptical. What other evidence to they have for the existence of this ocean? Could the diamond with ringwoodite have formed some other way? Have we been able to confirm the discovery at all?
Personally, I thought the article itself could have been a little more in depth and explored some additional evidence and alternative theories for what is going on.