. 24/7 Space News .
EARTH OBSERVATION
Are we exploring in the wrong direction
by John Harrison for Sputnuik News
Moscow (Sputnik) Jan 10, 2017


Dr Pearson says that underground water at such depths is very important in understanding how the volatility of the earth works. There is a huge amount of water trapped in rock and sediment which can be released and which can drive volcanoes. One of the reason why the earth has tectonic plates is because water weakens rocks, especially rocks which are heated to 700 degrees

The discovery of vast seas of water beneath the earth's crust opens up interesting new fields of research, and also poses a somewhat philosophical question: should we be looking more closely at our own earth and trying to understand the secrets of our existence rather than spending trillions journeying to other planets?

Dr Graham Pearson, Canada Excellence Research Chair on Arctic Resources, in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Alberta answers this and other related questions.

The water that has been discovered inside a diamond and was brought to the surface thanks to a volcano; that was written about recently in nature and science magazines, is water that is locked in a crystalline lattice, at a depth of over 600 kilometres down. All Jules Verne fans may be thinking that this is proof that there are seas down there. But free moving water at those depths is impossible Dr Pearson says, because of pressure.

The water has been become a part of solid material, which has been brought to the surface through on-going movement in the earth's mantle. The implications of this discovery highlights a potential explanation for intra-plate volcanoes that form well away from the subduction zones where we have island arcs which form a 'ring of fire' around the pacific, Dr Pearson explains.

Dr Pearson says that underground water at such depths is very important in understanding how the volatility of the earth works. There is a huge amount of water trapped in rock and sediment which can be released and which can drive volcanoes. One of the reason why the earth has tectonic plates is because water weakens rocks, especially rocks which are heated to 700 degrees.

This is one of the things that lubricates the plate tectonic process, Dr Pearson explains. So this is all part of a picture that we building up to understand where water is formed, how it is stored and how it moves from great depths to the surface. Do we know how the water got down here in the first place?, host John Harrison asks.

Dr Pearson says that much of the water seems to have been produced from the effect of the cosmic cocktail that occurred as a result of the collision of meteorites. Some of the water may be primordial water trapped 4.5 million years ago.

However, because of the process of movement, the supply of water that is trapped deep in the earth would probably have been emptied twice over during the earth's history, so there must be process of putting water back into the earth going on, from the earth's oceans. But the replacement cycle is very long for anybody thinking that this may be a way a sort of get out of jail card, to solve the problem of anthropological pollution of the seas.

In reply to the question: should we be looking more closely at our own planet instead of spending trillions of dollars on space exploration, Dr Pearson says than spending money on science is certainly better value for money than giving rich people tax breaks, or spending a lot of money on wars, but you need to do both because the sort of research we are talking about; into underground water, provides a fairly limited snapshot of what happened in the earth's history.

Going to another planet which has a history of moving tectonic plates provides us with a much clearer vision of what happened than studying the earth. The other thing about going to other planets is that it does tend to drive new technology, he said. So you need to do both.


Comment on this article using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Alberta
Earth Observation News - Suppiliers, Technology and Application






Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

Previous Report
EARTH OBSERVATION
Scientists use satellites to spot Svalbard avalanches
Oslo, Norway (UPI) Jan 4, 2017
The Arctic Ocean's mild, rainy autumn has become a mild and rainy winter, triggering avalanches in Svalbard, an archipelago north of mainland Norway. The lack of sunlight during the polar winter makes observation difficult. But scientists have been able to locate snow and ice slides using radar satellites. "They reveal several avalanches all across Svalbard," Bernd Etzelmüller, ... read more


EARTH OBSERVATION
Tech show looks beyond 'smart,' to new 'realities'

Tech outlook dampened by political uncertainty

Space station battery replacements to begin New Year's Eve

Launch of Russia's new progress spacecraft set for February 2

EARTH OBSERVATION
Mission contracts secure Commercial Crew operations for coming years

SpaceX ready to launch again

India to develop large scale solid fuel mixer

Russia won't be leaving Baikonur anytime soon

EARTH OBSERVATION
3-D images reveal features of Martian polar ice caps

Odyssey recovering from precautionary pause in activity

Small Troughs Growing on Mars May Become 'Spiders'

All eyes on Trump over Mars

EARTH OBSERVATION
Beijing's space program soars in 2016

China Plans to Launch 1st Mars Probe by 2020 - State Council Information Office

China to expand int'l cooperation on space sciences

China sees rapid development of space science and technology

EARTH OBSERVATION
Airbus DS and Energia eye new medium-class satellite platform

Space as a Driver for Socio-Economic Sustainable Development

SoftBank delivers first $1 bn of Trump pledge, to space firm

Intel acquires ESA incubator company

EARTH OBSERVATION
Rice U probes ways to turn cement's weakness to strength

Au naturel catalyst mimics nature to break tenacious carbon-hydrogen bond

MIT scientists create super strong, lightweight 3D graphene

Responsive filtration membranes by polymer self-assembly

EARTH OBSERVATION
The blob can learn and teach

Searching a sea of 'noise' to find exoplanets - using only data as a guide

Microlensing Study Suggests Most Common Outer Planets Likely Neptune-mass

Exciting new creatures discovered on ocean floor

EARTH OBSERVATION
Exploring Pluto and the Wild Back Yonder

Juno Captures Jupiter 'Pearl'

Juno Mission Prepares for December 11 Jupiter Flyby

Research Offers Clues About the Timing of Jupiter's Formation









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.