(NLDO) - Scientists may have found where Earth's first super ocean is hiding.
Deep inside the Earth, 3,000 kilometers below our feet, there is a mysterious band of matter called the "D layer" that has long fascinated scientists.
Layer D is uneven, with alternating thin and thick plates, like the ocean floor. New research suggests it may be an ocean that humanity has never known existed.
This ocean was on the surface of the earth billions of years ago, just like the five oceans today.
The early Earth was a hot ball - Graphic photo: SCITECH DAILY
According to Science Alert, the team of authors led by data scientist Qingyang Hu from the High Pressure Advanced Science and Technology Research Center (HPSTAR) in Beijing, this ancient ocean did not contain water, but hydrated magma.
It may have been Earth's first ocean, a "super ocean of death" of the Hadean eon, the time when the young Earth was a fiery, lifeless ball.
These chemical processes within the ocean resulted in accumulations of iron-rich material, which in turn caused the ocean floor to become as uneven as the D layer shows.
This ocean may have been born from the hypothetical collision between the early Earth and the planet Theia 4.5 billion years ago, the same event that created the Moon.
Of course, looking back so far in time isn't easy, and there's still a lot of scientific debate about what lies beneath the Earth's surface and how it got there.
Scientists hope new techniques in the future will help determine this, helping to visualize the early Earth, as well as understand more about what changes helped life emerge.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/trai-dat-xuat-hien-them-mot-sieu-dai-duong-tu-than-196240531112945211.htm
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