Level 1 — Absolute Beginner
There are volcanoes under the ocean. Some of these volcanoes are near New Zealand.
Scientists studied rocks from these underwater volcanoes. The rocks are called volcanic glass.
The scientists found something surprising. Deep inside the Earth, gold slowly builds up inside hot melted rock.
Scientists now call this process a 'gold kitchen.' It happens far below the ocean floor.
- volcano
- an opening in the Earth where hot melted rock can escape
- ocean
- a very large area of salt water
- scientists
- people who study the natural world using careful methods
- volcanic glass
- a type of rock formed when lava cools very quickly
- gold
- a valuable yellow metal
- melted rock
- rock that has become liquid because of extreme heat
- process
- a series of steps that lead to a result
- ocean floor
- the ground at the very bottom of the ocean
Level 2 — Elementary
Researchers studying underwater volcanoes near New Zealand have discovered a natural process deep inside the Earth that slowly concentrates gold.
The team, led by the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, examined 66 samples of volcanic glass collected from the ocean floor along the Kermadec island arc.
Volcanic glass forms when lava cools extremely quickly underwater, which freezes the rock's original chemical makeup in place and lets scientists study it later.
The researchers found gold concentrations of up to six nanograms per gram of rock, an amount that is tiny but unusually high for rock that comes from deep inside the Earth's mantle.
- concentrates
- gathers something together in a smaller space, making it stronger or denser
- examined
- looked at closely and carefully
- samples
- small amounts used to represent or test a larger group
- lava
- hot liquid rock that flows from a volcano
- chemical makeup
- the combination of substances that something is made of
- concentrations
- the amounts of a substance found within a given space
- mantle
- the thick layer of hot rock beneath the Earth's crust
- unusually
- in a way that is different from what is normal
Level 3 — Intermediate
Researchers led by the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel have identified a natural process deep within the Earth's mantle that gradually concentrates gold beneath submarine volcanoes, dubbing it a 'gold kitchen.'
The team analyzed 66 samples of volcanic glass gathered from the ocean floor along the Kermadec island arc and the adjacent Havre Trough, both located north of New Zealand in the South Pacific.
Because volcanic glass forms when lava cools almost instantly underwater, it preserves the rock's original chemical composition, offering researchers a rare, undisturbed window into processes occurring deep beneath the seafloor.
The study found gold concentrations of up to six nanograms per gram of rock, a quantity that, while minuscule, is notably elevated for magma derived from the mantle, and the researchers attribute it to repeated melting events that break down sulfur-rich minerals normally trapping the metal.
- dubbing
- giving something a descriptive name or nickname
- adjacent
- next to or bordering something else
- composition
- the way something is made up or put together
- undisturbed
- not interrupted or interfered with in any way
- quantity
- an amount or number of something
- minuscule
- extremely small
- elevated
- raised to a higher level than usual
- sulfur-rich
- containing a large amount of sulfur, a yellow chemical element
Level 4 — Advanced
Researchers led by the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel have characterized a natural process deep within the Earth's mantle that progressively enriches rising magma with gold beneath submarine volcanoes, a phenomenon they have dubbed a 'gold kitchen.'
The team analyzed 66 specimens of volcanic glass recovered from the seafloor along the Kermadec island arc and the adjacent Havre Trough, both situated north of New Zealand within the South Pacific subduction zone.
Because volcanic glass solidifies almost instantaneously upon contact with seawater, it locks in the magma's original chemical composition, affording researchers an unusually pristine window into processes unfolding far beneath the ocean floor.
The study documented gold concentrations reaching six nanograms per gram of rock, a quantity that, though minuscule in absolute terms, is markedly elevated for mantle-derived magma, with researchers attributing the enrichment to repeated, multi-stage melting events that progressively liberate gold from sulfur-rich minerals that would otherwise sequester the metal.
- characterized
- described the distinctive features or nature of something
- phenomenon
- a fact or event that is notable or observed in nature
- specimens
- individual examples used for scientific examination
- subduction zone
- a region where one tectonic plate slides beneath another
- solidifies
- becomes solid, changing from a liquid or molten state
- pristine
- in its original condition, unspoiled or untouched
- multi-stage
- occurring in several distinct steps or phases
- sequester
- to isolate or hold something apart from its surroundings
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