Oceans of Water Deep Beneath the Earth? | The Institute for Creation Research

Oceans of Water Deep Beneath the Earth?

We should not imagine subterranean oceans as depicted in Jules Verne’s classic novel Journey to the Center of the Earth, but scientists keep finding evidence for vast amounts of water far below the surface in the form of hydrated minerals. The newfound waters are causing quite a stir.

Geologists publishing in Science compared differences in the velocity of seismic energy passing beneath the western U.S. to models that predict water’s effects on seismic waves.1 They found good agreement between the models and actual recorded data, so it appears that disseminated water in the “transition zone” near the top of earth’s lower mantle—approximately 250-410 miles beneath the surface—slows seismic waves. Areas where seismic waves travel faster are thought to hold less water.

Certain minerals in the mantle can incorporate water molecules into their structure. The Science study authors concluded that the thick, low-velocity zones must represent hydrated minerals. Earlier research already found a hydrated mineral trapped inside a diamond that formed at great depth, as well as hydrated moon-rock minerals.2,3 The volume of water within the top of Earth’s lower mantle minerals would yield enough water to form entire new oceans. Who would have thought there was that much water so far below our feet?

These mantle waters could represent residual waters “of the great deep” that burst through the crust and onto Earth’s surface to initiate Noah’s year-long Flood, according to Genesis 7:11. Although some may suggest other explanations for the water, it complements Scripture’s general reference to waters deep beneath the earth.

If this evidence supports the Bible, it also challenges textbook Earth-formation scenarios. Secularists face a tough enough challenge in trying to explain how oceans of water came from molten rock. They imagine hydrated minerals from space rocks collided to form Earth, but the heat from those collisions would have pushed out the water. Now they have to explain this newly discovered deep water origin in addition to the vast amount in the world’s surface oceans.

Biblical scientists do not arbitrarily discount miracles, so they remain open to the possibility that God placed all this water on and in the earth just how He described it.

References

  1. Schamndt, B. et al. 2014. Dehydration melting at the top of the lower mantle. Science. 344 (6189): 1265-1268.
  2. Thomas, B. Water Deep in Earth’s Mantle. Creation Science Update. Posted on icr.org April 4, 2014, accessed June 23, 2014.
  3. Thomas, B. Water in Rocks May Support Moon’s Bible Origins. Creation Science Update. Posted on icr.org September 25, 2013, accessed June 23, 2014.
  4. See Genesis 1:1 and 2 Peter 3:5.

*Mr. Thomas is Science Writer at the Institute for Creation Research.

Article posted on June 27, 2014.

The Latest
NEWS
February 2025 ICR Wallpaper
"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8 NKJV) ICR's...

CREATION.LIVE PODCAST
Fascinating Dino Fossil Finds! | Creation.Live Podcast: Episode...
Dinosaurs are fascinating creatures and the fossils they've left behind inspire awe and wonder. Many scientists claim that the existence of...

NEWS
New Antarctic Ice Core: Good News for Creationists
Scientists have successfully drilled a fourth long ice core in East Antarctica.1 This new core, which reached to bedrock, has bottom ice...

CREATION PODCAST
Towers, Buttes, and Gardens of Stone - Exploring America's National...
America is home to stunning forests, mountains, monuments, and other wondrous features. The unique beauty of many of these locations has prompted...

NEWS
Oldest Dinosaurs in North America Explained by the Flood
A team of conventional paleontologists claims to have found the oldest dinosaur in North America, rivaling the oldest dinosaur remains found anywhere.1...

NEWS
Leaf and Stick Insect Variation
The phylum Arthropoda suddenly appears in the fossil record in a most un-Darwinian way.1 The largest group within the arthropods is the class...

NEWS
Snowflakes: A Symphony of Intricacy and Beauty
Snowflakes are among the most exquisite forms that nature has to offer, and no two flakes are alike. Several evolutionists have attempted to use the...

NEWS
Molecular Machines Twist Evolution
We read in the first chapter of Romans that God loves us so much that He has given us a general revelation of what He has created. Verse 19 states,...

CREATION PODCAST
America's Oldest National Park - Exploring the Unique Features...
America is home to stunning forests, mountains, monuments, and other wondrous features. The unique beauty of many of these locations have prompted...

NEWS
Binary Star Pair Detected Near Supermassive Black Hole
Astronomers have detected a likely binary star pair, designated as D9, orbiting the supermassive black hole Sag A* at the center of our Milky Way galaxy.1,2...