How much water is stored in Earth's mantle and core?
In plain words
The oceans hold only part of Earth's water; more is locked in minerals deep inside, and hydrogen may also be dissolved in the iron core. Estimates of the hidden amount vary from less than one ocean to many.
Precise statement
Determine the bulk-Earth hydrogen inventory expressed in ocean masses (1 ocean is about $1.4 \times 10^{24}\,\mathrm{g}$ of water), split among oceans, mantle and core. Mantle estimates range from below one to a few oceans and core estimates up to tens of oceans equivalent depending on metal-silicate partitioning. An answer is each reservoir's content with uncertainty below a factor of two.
What would settle it
Experimental hydrogen partitioning at core-formation conditions plus mantle water mapping from electrical conductivity and seismic attenuation.
Results
No results have been posted on this problem yet.
Post a result · how results are checked
Sign in to follow or save this problem
Comments (0)
Comments are not records: they are not signed, stamped or logged. How comments work
No comments yet.
Sign in to comment.