News From the Field
Volcanoes Deliver Two Flavors of Water

February 27, 2012

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 instead, discovered evidence of seawater distilled from a more ancient plate descent, preserved for as long as 1 billion years. The data indicates that these ancient slabs can return to the upper mantle, and that rates of hydrogen exchange may not conform to experiments. Full Story

Source
Carnegie Institution

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