Saltwater is found in Earth's mantle, the layer of rock between the crust and the core, but its exact behavior is not fully understood. To gain a better understanding, researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee have conducted simulations of saltwater behavior under the extreme conditions found in the mantle.

The simulations revealed that when saltwater is heated and pressurized to the conditions found in the mantle, it undergoes a series of phase transitions, changing from a liquid to a solid and back to a liquid. The researchers found that these phase transitions cause the release of water molecules that can react with minerals in the mantle, altering their properties and potentially influencing mantle dynamics and plate tectonics.

This discovery has important implications for our understanding of how Earth's mantle behaves. It suggests that saltwater may play a role in transporting water into the deeper regions of Earth and influencing the movement of tectonic plates. The researchers plan to conduct further simulations to study the effects of saltwater behavior on mantle dynamics and plate tectonics.

The simulations were conducted using a computer model that simulates the behavior of saltwater under high pressure and temperature conditions. The model was developed using experimental data and theoretical models of saltwater behavior. The simulations were run on the Titan supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.