{"id":14718,"date":"2025-06-04T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-04T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/?p=14718"},"modified":"2025-05-30T11:42:46","modified_gmt":"2025-05-30T11:42:46","slug":"core-mantle-interaction-hawaii-volcanic-rocks-june-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/core-mantle-interaction-hawaii-volcanic-rocks-june-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Researchers Find Evidence of Core-Mantle Interaction in Hawaii\u2019s Volcanic Rocks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-gray-200-background-color has-background\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h1 id=\"at-a-glance\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">At a Glance<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\">Scientists have discovered the isotope <sup>100<\/sup>Ru in Hawaiian volcanic rocks, providing the first direct evidence that material from Earth\u2019s core can reach the surface through mantle plumes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Ruthenium, typically found in the core alongside gold and other metals, appears in these lavas with a composition distinct from mantle sources, indicating a deep origin near the core-mantle boundary.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">This breakthrough challenges the long-held view that Earth\u2019s core and mantle are geochemically isolated, suggesting that the two layers may exchange material more than previously thought.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Advanced detection techniques allowed researchers to identify minute isotopic differences in ruthenium, revealing hidden pathways by which core-derived metals can circulate through Earth\u2019s mantle.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">The findings offer new insights into planetary dynamics and hold potential economic relevance by tracing how precious metals essential for clean energy technologies might reach accessible surface deposits.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">A recent breakthrough by scientists at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uni-goettingen.de\/en\/1.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">University of G\u00f6ttingen<\/a> has provided new insights into the mysterious relationship between Earth\u2019s core and surface. The researchers discovered traces of ruthenium (Ru), a precious metal found in Earth\u2019s core, in volcanic rocks from Hawaii. This is the first time scientists have detected a specific isotope of ruthenium, known as <sup>100<\/sup>Ru, in volcanic lavas, suggesting that material from Earth\u2019s core may be making its way into the mantle and, eventually, to the surface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img  decoding=\"async\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  alt=\"\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/7382\/12792432484_0adc51f204_h.jpg\" ><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/27784370@N05\/12792432484\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Kilauea Lava Lake<\/a>&#8221; by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/27784370@N05\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">U.S. Geological Survey<\/a>\u00a0is marked with\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/zero\/1.0\/?ref=openverse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CC0 1.0<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Ruthenium is a precious metal that resides deep within Earth\u2019s core, along with gold and other valuable elements. The core, located about 3,000 kilometers below the Earth\u2019s surface, is composed mainly of iron and nickel but contains small amounts of ruthenium. The researchers found that the <sup>100<\/sup>Ru isotope in the Hawaiian lavas has a different composition from what is typically found in Earth\u2019s mantle. This suggests that these lavas originated from a region near the boundary between the core and mantle, known as the core-mantle boundary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img  decoding=\"async\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  alt=\"\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2025\/tapping-into-the-world-1.jpg\" ><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Experimental setup for extracting ruthenium (Ru) from rock samples.\u00a0<strong>(a)<\/strong>\u00a0Heating releases Ru gas from the sample, which is then trapped in a solution.\u00a0<strong>(b)<\/strong>\u00a0A vacuum system helps draw the gas through the apparatus. This process enables isotopic analysis, crucial for tracing materials from Earth&#8217;s core. (Messling et al., 2025)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">The study&#8217;s lead scientist, <a href=\"https:\/\/publications.goettingen-research-online.de\/cris\/rp\/rp115451\/?cs=mla\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr. Nils Messling<\/a>, described the discovery as \u201cstriking gold,\u201d confirming that material from Earth\u2019s core, including valuable metals like gold, leaks into the mantle. Using advanced techniques, the team could detect the tiny variations in the ruthenium isotope, which had previously been undetectable. These findings challenge the previous belief that the core and mantle were largely isolated from each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">The study offers a new perspective on Earth\u2019s internal dynamics, suggesting that vast amounts of material from the core, including precious metals, may be circulating through the mantle and reaching the surface. This discovery has significant implications, not only for understanding the geological processes that shape our planet but also for supplying valuable materials that are essential for industries such as renewable energy. The findings, published in the journal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41586-025-09003-0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Nature<\/em><\/a>, open up exciting new possibilities for studying Earth&#8217;s inner workings and the role of its core in shaping the planet&#8217;s surface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h1 id=\"references\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">References<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\">University of G\u00f6ttingen. (2025, May 22). <em>Hawaiian volcanic rocks reveal Earth\u2019s core contains vast hidden gold reserves<\/em>. Phys.Org; University of G\u00f6ttingen. <a href=\"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2025-05-hawaiian-volcanic-reveal-earth-core.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2025-05-hawaiian-volcanic-reveal-earth-core.html<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Messling, N., Willbold, M., Kallas, L., Elliott, T., Fitton, J. G., M\u00fcller, T., &amp; Geist, D. (2025). Ru and W isotope systematics in ocean island basalts reveals core leakage. <em>Nature<\/em>. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41586-025-09003-0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1038\/s41586-025-09003-0<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Scientists have detected core-derived ruthenium in Hawaiian lava, revealing that Earth\u2019s core may leak precious metals into the mantle and up to the surface.\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14720,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/2168\/2316886083_7ba152aecb_o.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13,17],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-14718","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-earth","8":"category-math-and-the-sciences","9":"cs-entry","10":"cs-video-wrap"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14718"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14718\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14719,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14718\/revisions\/14719"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14720"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}