Water recycling 3.1 billion years ago

An international research team led by University of Adelaide geochemist Eric Vandenburg analyzed ancient volcanic rocks from Western Australia's Australia — Pilbara Craton and found evidence that water was already influencing Earth's interior and driving volcanic activity more than three billion years ago. The study, published in Tata Communications, proposes a mechanism called 'dripduction' where dense, water-rich sections of Earth's cool outer crust sagged and collapsed into the hotter mantle, releasing water that generated magma and fueled volcanic eruptions. This suggests that Earth's surface and deep interior were connected much earlier than previously thought, with implications for understanding continental growth, volcanic activity, and the chemical evolution of the planet.