Science & Technology: Molten Carbonate Reservoir is 217 Miles Beneath the Surface of the Earth

A Massive Lake Of Molten Carbon The Size Of Mexico Was Just Discovered Under The US (Forbes)

A recent scientific discovery has drastically changed our view of the global carbon cycle and identified a new significant risk. Researchers have discovered a giant lake or reservoir made up of molten carbon sitting below the western US.

The molten carbon (primarily in the form of carbonate) reservoir could drastically and immediately change the global climate for over a decade if it were to be released. Thankfully there is little risk in the near future of this happening. The carbon sits 217 miles beneath the surface of the Earth in the upper mantle and has no immediate pathway to the surface. In total the lake covers approximately 700,000 square miles, approximately the size of Mexico. This has redefined how much carbon scientists believe sits locked away in the Earth's mantle and its interaction with surface and atmospheric carbon.

Pervasive upper mantle melting beneath the western US, Saswata Hier-Majumdera and Benoit Tauzinb. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2016.12.041

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