Ringwoodite is a form of highly pressurized rock.
Information about the research which was led by Steven Jacobsen was published in the Science Magazine. Scientists part of the team hope that their findings can help settle an argument in the theories of water origin. This is a controversial topic as many believe water was formed on Earth but there are a lot of supporters of the idea that water came from asteroids which carried it here.
Ringwoodite behaves quite strange under the pressure and heat of the mantle. As the study also shown, the wet ringwoodite which was reproduced in the group’s lab bleeds water under the previously described conditions. Thus the original theory that was tested in the field sounded plausible to researchers. And sure enough the group’s findings matched what mineralogist Steven Jacobsen found in the laboratory.
While more tests are to be conducted it is still unknown how far does this “ocean” trapped somewhere around 200 to 400 miles underground really extends.
