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Deep below Earth’s surface – 2,900 km deep, to be precise – is a mass of mostly molten iron forming the planet’s outer core. Could it rust as well?

If subduction carries hydrous minerals deep into Earth's mantle, they may "rust" the iron outer core, forming vast sinks of oxygen that can later be returned to the atmosphere. Iron on Earth's surface — whether in simple nails or mighty girders —...

If subduction carries hydrous minerals deep into Earth’s mantle, they may “rust” the iron outer core, forming vast sinks of oxygen that can later be returned to the atmosphere.

Long ago — 4.5 billion years ago, right after the Earth formed — our planet was hot. It formed by essentially getting slammed billions of times by asteroids, and all that energy of impact was enough to keep the Earth broiling. Eventually heavy elements like iron and nickel sank to the core, and lighter ones rose to the surface. This differentiation created the Earth we see today: An inner, solid nickel/iron core that's nearly as hot as the surface of the Sun; an outer, liquid iron core; the solid, rocky mantle; and the thin crust topping it off.

In our early Solar System, a gigantic protoplanetary disk of dust, rock and gas swirled around the newly formed Sun. Some of that material eventually bound together through gravity to form the adolescent versions of the planets we know today – in