Scientists have uncovered vast underground oceans… and the world is set to end when they dry up
The vast reserves of water are essential for sustaining life on Earth, although it's taken until now for us to realise their importance
SCIENTISTS have discovered a vast reserve of water deep beneath the Earth's surface, and there are fears that all life will die out when it dries up.
Two new studies claim there is a huge store of water in the Earth's mantle, as deep as 620 miles below our planet's surface.
And researchers believe the oceans churning deep beneath our feet are essential for life on Earth, since they are responsible for volcanoes and other tectonic activity.
Whilst volcanoes may seem like more of a threat, the lava they spew out is actually essential for creating fertile soil, which is why much of the world's best farmland can be found on the slopes of volcanoes.
Without them, soil on Earth would contain far fewer nutrients, and crop growth would be almost impossible.
And the underground oceans which power these volcanoes may account for as much as 1.5 per cent of the weight of our planet, with as much water deep underground as there is on the Earth's surface.
In one study, researchers from Florida State University and the University of Edinburgh estimated that water can be stored deep underground in a mineral called brucite.
And a second study by researchers at Northwestern University in Illinois agreed with these findings to suggest that water can be found a third of the way to the Earth's core.
Water in the Earth's interior is vital for a geological process called convection, by which vast masses of underground rock move around - deep beneath the Earth's surface.