Kind Of A Big Deal: Scientists Have Discovered A “Hidden” Sixth Ocean On Earth

Mashable - We have all been reading and learning about oceans since we were kids, and we were taught that the Earth has five oceans: the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, and Southern Oceans and Pacific being the largest, fresh research indicates that it is time to update our text book.

Scientists from all over the world have now found proof that the Earth's upper and lower mantles contain a large amount of water. The area where the Earth's upper and lower mantles intersect is where the water has been found. As per ANI, the research team examined a single diamond that formed 660 metres far below Earth's surface using techniques like Raman spectroscopy and FTIR spectrometry.

A diamond from Botswana that developed 660 kilometres below the planet's surface at the boundary between transition zone and the lower mantle was examined by scientists. Ringwoodite inclusions with a high water content were found in the diamond after analysis using FTIR and Raman spectroscopy.

"In our analysis, we have proved that the transition zone includes a large amount of water rather than behaving as a dry sponge," says Professor Frank Brenker of the Institute for Geosciences.

Well, I'm a fucking idiot because not only am I finding out for the first time about this new "sixth" ocean, but I'm also just learning about the fifth- the Southern Ocean. 

But this is pretty crazy. 

Jules Verne's is often referred to as the “father of science fiction.” He became famous for his Voyages Extraordinaires, a series of 54 novels back in the 1800's. They were huge hit back in the day, especially "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea" which I think we all read in school. 

And Verne was famous for his concept of an ocean being inside the Earth. This finding seems eerily spot on to what Verne wrote about…

The information shows that the transition zone (TZ), a layer that separates the Earth's upper and lower mantles, contains water. The barrier lies between 410 and 660 kilometres below the surface. The barrier is located around 410 and 660 kilometres beneath the surface.

The "hollow earth theory" conspiracy people are going to be having a field day with this press release from the science community. If you listen closely you can hear the "I told you so's" from here. "If there's a legit ocean under Earth's surface, we're just learning about and confirming, who knows what else is down there?". Well I'm pretty sure scientists do. At least I like to think so. Either way, you have to admit this is not a good look for them. 

We've been on this Earth for how many centuries now? And we supposedly had this whole Earth thing figured out. The space stuff we're still rookies on and learning more every day (like the fact it rains diamonds on some planets in the galaxy) But Earth? I thought we had the crust, outer mantle, inner mantle, outer core, and inner core. Throwing another ocean in there kind of means everything is in play now.

It’s crazy how much we think we know, but how little we actually do.