Researchers behind the paper published in November used high pressure experiments at the Advanced Photon Source of Argonne National Lab in Illinois and Germany’s PETRA III of Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron to replicate the extreme conditions around Earth’s core.
In their experiments, they tested how surface water at the mantle-core boundary would react to the extreme heat and pressure around the core. What they found was that the water chemically reacted with core materials, forming a hydrogen-rich, silicon-depleted layer that acted like a film surrounding the outer core. The reaction also forms silica rich crystals that rise into the mantle. This results in a dense, silica rich area at the bottom of the mantle. The findings of the experiments gave geologists answers about a mysterious layer of Earth’s interior known as the E-prime layer.