Discovered a giant melted carbon reservoir in the United States

Scientists have used the world's largest seismic sensor to probe parts deep beneath the Earth's surface. And they discovered a molten carbon reservoir in the United States, covering an area of ​​1.8 million square kilometers (695,000 square miles).

This search took place about 350km (217 miles) below the western United States. The new finding raises questions for researchers: How much carbon in our planet has not been discovered?

The answer may be more than any previous scientist has predicted.

The reservoirs are so deep that it is impossible to use conventional search to reach them. The research team at Royal Holloway University London (UK) had to use an extensive network of 583 seismic sensors to probe.

These sensors have the function of "catching" strange vibrations that are created in the crust above the Earth, thereby determining the location.

The upper coatings lie just below the planetary crust, extending to a depth of about 410km (250 miles). In this class, temperatures can range from 500 - 900 ° C (932 to 1,652 ° F) near the crust. However, in coatings below the central core, the temperature can reach a peak of about 4,000 ° C (7,230 ° F).

It is this abnormally high temperature that can melt carbon - a large group of minerals like magnesium and calcium. They all contain a specific carbonate ion. It is this molten carbon that creates the electrical conductivity of the coating. The melting process also creates a unique feature of seismic models. By converting ground motion into an electronic signal, the sensors on the surface can read those signals.

The newly discovered molten carbon reservoir.(Photo: Shutterstock).

Based on the results of the sensors, the researchers said that the Earth's upper layer could contain up to 100 trillion tons of melted carbon - far more than we expected.

The team has made predictions about the huge carbon reservoir they discovered. Accordingly, the reservoir could be formed when one of the tectonic plates - creating the Pacific Ocean - was pushed to the west of the United States. And it provided more fuel for the upper shell burning.

"Drilling down to see the Earth's crust in the usual way seems impossible. So by using a large number of sensors, we have preliminary mathematical equations to explain what is below, " said Masashi Hier-Majumder - one of the researchers.

"The western part of the United States is a giant melting carbon reservoir. It is the result of one of the Pacific tectonic plates being pushed to the western United States. Gases like CO ₂ and H ₂ O contained in dissolved minerals has partly affected the melting of carbon ".

At a depth of 350 km, the melting of carbon does not have much impact on us. As Hier-Majumder says, these carbon reservoirs are melting slowly and they will reach the surface through volcanic eruptions.

The eruptions will explain why carbon from inside our planet escapes outside the atmosphere. This is not a big problem for the environment, because we have emitted about 40 billion tons of pollutants every year.

"We do not think of the link in the structure of the Earth with climate change when doing this study, but it is very meaningful indeed. It is not only important in building maps. underground, but also makes sense for our future atmosphere , " said Hier-Majumder.

"As long as 1% of this carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere, it will be equivalent to burning 2.3 trillion barrels of oil. The existence of such deep pools indicates its importance in the carbon cycle. Global".

The entire study is published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters.