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Based on the statement that "[t]he sphere includes all the water in the oceans, seas, ice caps, lakes and rivers as well as groundwater, atmospheric water, and
by gliese1337 14y ago
Based on the statement that "[t]he sphere includes all the water in the oceans, seas, ice caps, lakes and rivers as well as groundwater, atmospheric water, and even the water in you, your dog, and your tomato plant", I would guess not (although it doesn't specifically say that that's a comprehensive list). That conclusion is further supported by the observations that 1) we don't actually know exactly how much water there is distributed through the mantle, but 2) more water gets subducted than is released by volcanoes, so it's a large volume and getting bigger and 3) the total amount is probably comparable in size to the amount of surface water, which would make that sphere significantly bigger if it were included.
- stcredzero 14y agoConsidering that the surface water came from outgassing volcanoes, it would be reasonable to think that there might even be 2 or 3 times as much water still trapped down there.
- JumpCrisscross 14y agoThe question of the origin of water on Earth is yet un-resolved, with a contender to the out gassing theory being deposition by asteroids [1]. Even by that theory I believe it was volatiles (hydrogen, oxygen) that were "outgassed" and then allowed to form into H20 in the atmosphere. That being said, the possibility of large masses of water subducting under the crust and sitting in the lower mantle has been deemed plausible [2](but not probable). [1] http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_of_water_on_Earth#_ http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_of_water_on_Earth#_ [2] http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/03/0307_0307_waterworld.html http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/03/0307_0307_wa...