Volcanoes deliver two flavors of water
Monday, February 27, 2012 - 18:30
in Earth & Climate
By analyzing submarine volcanic glass from the Manus Basin, scientists found unexpected changes in hydrogen and boron isotopes from the deep mantle. They expected to see the "fingerprint" of seawater. But discovered evidence of seawater distilled from a more ancient plate descent, preserved for as long as one billion years. The data indicate that these ancient "slabs" can return to the upper mantle, and that rates of hydrogen exchange may not conform to experiments.