Deep below Earth’s surface 2,900 kilometers deep, to be precise, is a mass of mostly molten iron forming the planet’s outer core. Could it rust as well?

In experiments, scientists have recently shown that when iron meets moisture as water or in the form of hydroxyl-bearing minerals at pressures close to 1 million atmospheres, similar to pressures in the deep lower mantle, it forms iron peroxide or a high-pressure form of iron oxide-hydroxide with the same structure as pyrite.

In other words, the oxidation reactions in these experiments do, indeed, form high-pressure rust.

If rust is actually present where the outer core meets the mantle (the core-mantle boundary, or CMB), scientists may need to update their view of Earth’s interior and its history. This rust could shed light on the deep-water cycle in the lower mantle and the enigmatic origins of ultralow-velocity zones (ULVZs)—small, thin regions atop Earth’s fluid core that slow seismic waves significantly.

It could also help answer questions about the Great Oxidation Event (GOE), which marked the beginning of Earth’s oxygen-rich atmosphere some 2.5 billion to 2.3 billion years ago, and the Neoproterozoic Oxygenation Event 1 billion to 540 million years ago, which brought atmospheric free oxygen to its present levels.

Thumbnail Core Image Credit: [ Ссылка ]

Video Editor: Team 121 Creators ([ Ссылка ])
Narration: Sidhart Viyyapu ([ Ссылка ])
Project Head: Rajkumar Shukla ([ Ссылка ])
Production: World Of Science Media

Confirmed: Earth’s Core is Rusting

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