Scientists Say The Earth's Core Is Literally Leaking Gold

"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."
Here's what you'll learn when you read this story:
Precious metals are leaking out of Earth's core into the mantle, a new study suggests.
Scientists identified a particular isotope of ruthenium (Ru) in volcanic rock samples—a form that typically only occurs in Earth's core.
Researchers say that they must conduct further studies to determine whether the 'leak' has happened throughout Earth's existence or if it's a new phenomenon.
Gold isn't as rare as you may think—it's just hard to reach. 99.999 percent of Earth's precious metals lay hundreds of miles beneath the surface, trapped inside the planet's molten core. If the transparent distance didn't make accessing gold difficult enough, we're also separated from the ore by (literal) tons of solid rock. Fortunately, Earth is making it easier for us humans. According to a new study published in the journal Nature, Earth's core is 'leaking' gold.
Now, don't get too excited—gold isn't spewing out of the ground in cartoon-esque fountains—but the researchers on the study did find evidence that precious metals are oozing out of Earth's core and into the mantle. Unlike the core, the mantle is mostly solid, and makes up most of the planet (84 percent of the Earth's volume to be exact). Comparatively, the mantle also has less of a platinum-group-metal called ruthenium, or Ru. Scientists discovered traces of Ru while studying samples of volcanic rocks from Hawaii and concluded that they must have come from Earth's core.
'When the first results came in, we realized that we had literally struck gold,' first author of the study Nils Messling said in a press release. 'Our data confirmed that material from the core, including gold and other precious metals, is leaking into the Earth's mantle above.'
New procedures developed by the University of Göttingen allowed researchers to detect the microscopic markers that indicate the Ru actually came from the molten core. According to the paper, when Earth's core formed 4.5 billion years ago, the Ru came from a different source than the trace amounts of the element that naturally occur in the mantle. The differences in the isotopes are so small, however, that it was previously impossible to distinguish them.
On top of procedural revolutions, the study is also notable in that it supports wider geological theories. Evidence from the study affirms the plate tectonics theory that oceanic islands formed from molten material.
'Our findings not only show that the Earth's core is not as isolated as previously assumed,' Matthias Willbold, another author of the study, said in the release. 'We can now also prove that huge volumes of super-heated mantle material–several hundreds of quadrillion metric tonnes of rock–originate at the core-mantle boundary and rise to the Earth's surface to form ocean islands like Hawaii.'
As for the future, the researchers expressed that there is still much to learn, particularly when it comes to the timeline of the 'leak.'
'Whether these processes that we observe today have also been operating in the past remains to be proven,' Messling explained. 'Our findings open up an entirely new perspective on the evolution of the inner dynamics of our home planet.'
You Might Also Like
The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape
The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere
Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Yahoo

4 hours ago

• Yahoo

6 Rude Things People Can't Stop Doing at the Grocery Store

This article may contain affiliate links that Yahoo and/or the publisher may receive a commission from if you buy a product or service through those links. The grocery store is my happy place. I know I know, but it's true. As soon as I push through the revolving door, there's a sense of calm that comes over me — like the door is a gateway from the chaotic outside world to the pleasant predictability that lives inside my grocery store. Things there are just how I like them: the temperature is spot-on, the music is playing at the perfect level, and I'm surrounded by glorious stacks of delicious food. It's a good spot for me and my mental health, at least most of the time. Recently I've noticed an influx of people seeking to destroy my happy place, doing things they obviously don't find disrespectful (or think twice about). I know many of them aren't doing it out of spite, but nonetheless, it's time we address the concerning behavior and hopefully squash it. The people who work in the produce section of my grocery store are amazing. They create the most beautiful displays and work constantly to ensure the shelves are stocked. It has to be rough watching customers aggressively grab, squeeze, shake and even peel it all with what feels like reckless abandon. I have witnessed several people peel off corn husks and leave them on the floor (ditto for onions and lettuce). Rather than piling things on the floor, take a few extra moments to pick out your produce. If you're looking for that perfect avocado and you think it's buried under all of the others, don't wreck the tower so that you can find it. On that note… I really dislike food waste, so when I see someone pick up a perishable item and then set it down in a totally different part of the store because they changed their mind, it bugs me. Just a few weeks ago I found a big package of meat someone must have ordered from the butcher counter just sitting in the refrigerated section by the cheese. Yes, it was at least refrigerated, but regardless, once that meat leaves the counter, it can't go back, so it's wasted. Let's not contribute to the food waste problem any longer. Stick with what you ordered and if it's produce or any other packaged food, put it back where you found it. This one might not annoy everyone, but it bothers me. The scenario goes like this: The cart offenders leave the cart, centrally placed in the aisle. They travel to the shelf and then stand in front of it to look closer. Meanwhile, everyone else in the aisle is left to wait for those shoppers to either make a decision or move their cart. We all need to move and get around so that we can go home and unpack our groceries. Please make that easier by moving your cart to a less-trafficked spot or wait until the aisle isn't so crowded to grab what you need. I get it, you need the 'tea' from Macey, but couldn't it wait until after you're done shopping? I can't imagine that you want to spend more than 15 to 20 minutes in the store and I bet the gossip is better when you can actually focus on what your friend is saying. If you need to have that call, do it somewhere in the corner away from everyone else (and definitely don't use speaker phone). Manners go a long way and having a conversation on a phone while — especially when someone is ringing up your groceries — is rude. Why not greet the person working in the aisles and talk to them instead? I've learned so much from the employees stocking the shelves and working the registers. You could too. I think it's fun that my grocery store also sells wine and beer that you can sip while shopping. But just like driving a car, you need to drink responsibly. It's not okay to attempt steering one-handed with a full beverage in your other hand. This makes your moves erratic and unpredictable, which can lead to accidents with fellow shoppers, workers, and even inanimate objects like end-cap displays. My advice? Take a sip every once in a while, choose to do it in a place where you won't be in the way. Oh yeah, and please take your glass back to where you got it. You're done shopping! Yay! The next best move is to leave your cart in a random spot in the parking lot or push it close to the cart corral, but definitely not in it! All kidding aside, I bet you have a few extra minutes to put your cart away. Or, if you need assistance it's perfectly OK to ask a fellow shopper or store employee for help. Everyone wins when you're a team player! Got any grocery shopping dos and don'ts to share? Tell us about it in the comments below. Sign up for The Weekly Checkout to get the most up-to-date grocery news, tips, and highlights. Subscribe to The Kitchn! Why People Are Ditching Their Seltzer After a Disturbing Study The One Cookware Brand That Gordon Ramsay Can't Stop Talking About Ball Just Dropped the Most Beautiful Mason Jars for Its 140th Anniversary ("So Iconic!") Sign up for The Kitchn's Daily newsletter to receive our best recipes, posts, and shopping tips in your inbox.

New York Times

14 hours ago

• New York Times

I Love Finding Birds' Nests, but What's in Them Troubles Me

Most birds go to great lengths to hide their nests. So when I find one, invariably so carefully crafted and astonishingly intricate, I'm filled with awe. They are marvels of the natural world. The weave of twigs, grass, leaves and other natural materials is specific to each species. Most birds use nests only to raise their young. For small birds, this could be less than one month out of the year. For that reason, I generally don't consider them homes. But the analogy is apt, if only to convey the uniqueness of their architecture. Of a house, you might say: That's a craftsman or a Cape Cod or a colonial. The same sort of design distinction can be seen in a nest. That's a robin's nest or a warbler's or a red-tailed hawk's. Birds can be choosy about the materials they use to build their nest. Some line their nests with snakeskin to ward off enemies. Others fasten lichens with spider silk to the exterior for camouflage. Still others stuff feathers inside dome-shaped nests of sticks or create false entrances to dupe predators or add aromatic leaves to repel parasites and enhance the immune systems of their nestlings. Increasingly, and troublingly for what it says about the state of the planet, birds are also using all sorts of plastic litter and other trash to build their nests. These photos reflect yet another way the human signature has affixed itself on the natural world. Among the trash that birds use to build their nests are strips of tarp; wrappers from gum, candy and cigarettes; plastic cotton and twine; shipping material; landscaping refuse; and insulation. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.

Los Angeles Times

15 hours ago

• Los Angeles Times

Early humans adapted to extreme habitats. Researchers say it set the stage for global migration

WASHINGTON — Humans are the only animal that lives in virtually every possible environment, from rainforests to deserts to tundra. This adaptability is a skill that long predates the modern age. According to a new study published this week in Nature, ancient Homo sapiens developed the flexibility to survive by finding food and other resources in a wide variety of difficult habitats before they dispersed from Africa about 50,000 years ago. 'Our superpower is that we are ecosystem generalists,' said Eleanor Scerri, an evolutionary archaeologist at the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology in Jena, Germany. Our species first evolved in Africa around 300,000 years ago. Though prior fossil finds show some groups made early forays outside the continent, lasting human settlements in other parts of the world didn't happen until a series of migrations around 50,000 years ago. 'What was different about the circumstance of the migrations that succeeded — why were humans ready this time?' said study co-author Emily Hallett, an archaeologist at Loyola University Chicago. Earlier theories held that Stone Age humans might have made a single important technological advance or developed a new way of sharing information, but researchers haven't found evidence to back that up. This study, whose findings were published Wednesday, took a different approach by looking at the trait of flexibility itself. The scientists assembled a database of archaeological sites showing human presence across Africa from 120,000 to 14,000 years ago. For each site, researchers modeled what the local climate would have been like during the time periods that ancient humans lived there. 'There was a really sharp change in the range of habitats that humans were using starting around 70,000 years ago,' Hallet said. 'We saw a really clear signal that humans were living in more challenging and more extreme environments.' Though humans had long survived in savannas and forests, they shifted into diverse environments including dense rainforests and arid deserts in the period leading up to 50,000 years ago, developing what Hallet called an 'ecological flexibility that let them succeed.' Although this leap in abilities is impressive, it's important not to assume that only Homo sapiens did it, said University of Bordeaux archaeologist William Banks, who was not involved in the research. Other groups of early human ancestors also left Africa and established long-term settlements elsewhere, including those that evolved into Europe's Neanderthals, he said. The new research helps explain why humans were ready to expand across the world way back when, he said, but it doesn't answer the lasting question of why only our species remains today. Larson writes for the Associated Press.