Context: Recently, Researchers from Arizona State University and an international team discovered the origin of the previously known E prime layer in the Earth’s interior, which until now remained a mystery.

About E Prime Layer

• There was a belief that the exchange of material between the core and mantle is minimal.

• The E prime layer is a distinct layer formed at the outermost part of Earth’s core. This layer is formed by surface water penetrating deep into the planet over billions of years.

• Experimental Discovery: However, experiments have shown that when water reaches the core-mantle boundary, it undergoes a reaction with silicon in the core, resulting in the formation of silica.

• Earth comprises four primary layers: an inner core at the planet's center, surrounded by the outer core, mantle, and crust

• Composition: It is a hydrogen-rich and silica-depleted layer.

How did this layer develop over time?

• This latest research suggests that tectonic plates carrying surface water have transported it deep into the Earth over billions of years. 

• Upon reaching the core-mantle boundary about 1,800 miles below the surface, this water initiates significant chemical changes, influencing the core's structure.

• This reaction leads to the formation of a hydrogen-rich, silicon-depleted layer at the outer core, resembling a film-like structure.

• Silica crystals generated by this process ascend and blend into the mantle, impacting the overall composition.

• These modifications in the liquid metallic layer could potentially result in reduced density and altered seismic characteristics, aligning with anomalies detected by seismologists.

Significance of Research

• This discovery enhances our comprehension of Earth's internal mechanisms, indicating a broader and more intricate global water cycle than previously acknowledged.

• The transformed layer in the core holds significant implications for the interconnected geochemical processes linking surface water cycles with the deep metallic core.

• These findings also have significant implications in understanding Earth’s internal processes, heat generation and plate tectonics.

• These findings point to a dynamic core-mantle interaction, suggesting substantial material exchange.

• It also indicates a more extensive global water cycle than previously acknowledged.