Islamabad-In a new study, published in the journal Nature, an international team of scientists provides the first conclusive evidence directly linking deep Earth’s water cycle and its expressions with magmatic productivity and earthquake activity.
Water (H2O) and other volatiles (e.g. CO2 and sulfur) that are cycled through the deep Earth have played a key role in the evolution of our planet, including in the formation of continents, the onset of life, the concentration of mineral resources, and the distribution of volcanoes and earthquakes.
Subduction zones, where tectonic plates converge and one plate sinks beneath another, are the most important parts of the cycle — with large volumes of water going in and coming out, mainly through volcanic eruptions. Yet, just how (and how much) water is transported via subduction, and its effect on natural hazards and the formation of natural resources, has historically been poorly understood.