What is the E prime layer?

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About E prime layer

It was believed that a material exchange between the core and mantle is small.
But the experiments revealed that when water reaches the core-mantle boundary, it reacts with silicon in the core, forming silica.

How did this layer develop?

This latest research suggests that tectonic plates carrying surface water have transported it deep into the Earth over billions of years.
Upon reaching the core-mantle boundary about 1,800 miles below the surface, this water initiates significant chemical changes, influencing the core’s structure.
Scientists have observed that subducted water reacts chemically with core materials under high pressure.
This reaction leads to the formation of a hydrogen-rich, silicon-depleted layer at the outer core, resembling a film-like structure.
Silica crystals generated by this process ascend and blend into the mantle, impacting the overall composition.
These modifications in the liquid metallic layer could potentially result in reduced density and altered seismic characteristics, aligning with anomalies detected by seismologists.

Significance

This discovery enhances researchers comprehension of Earth’s internal mechanisms, indicating a broader and more intricate global water cycle than previously acknowledged.
The transformed layer in the core holds significant implications for the interconnected geochemical processes linking surface water cycles with the deep metallic core.

Q1) What is a tectonic plate?

A tectonic plate (also called lithospheric plate) is a massive, irregularly shaped slab of solid rock, generally composed of both continental and oceanic lithosphere.

Source: Earth core’s mysterious new layer formed due to surface water diving deep: Study