Japanese researchers have succeeded in raising the temperature and atmospheric pressure of a hydrous mineral to extremely high levels that are near the Earth's core.
The finding suggests the possibility that water could theoretically exist in the mantle as deep as 2,900 kilometers.
A team of Ehime University researchers succeeded in bringing serpentine, a major hydrous mineral, to 500,000 atmospheric pressure and 1,000 degrees Celsius -- a condition similar to 1,400 kilometers underground.
Special devices were used to achieve the levels. The researchers say the hydrous mineral did not dissolve but changed its structure, still retaining water.
They say serpentine could become more solid by absorbing aluminum that exists around it. It would be so solid that it does not dissolve at 1.3 million atmospheric pressure that's similar to a depth of 2,900 kilometers. That's theoretically the deepest point of the Earth's mantle.
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