Question

instructions read the passage(s) below and answer the question based on what is stated or implied in the passage(s) and in any introductory material that may be provided. passage vast quantities of water might lurk unseen deep within the hot, thousand - degree confines of earth. in 2009, canadian geochemist graham pearson and his graduate student john mcneill were analyzing a pile of diamonds that formed at least 325 miles underground hundreds of millions of years ago. after emerging through a volcanic explosion, the diamonds were found in 2008 at the edge of the amazon rainforest. mcneill and pearson were studying them to look for clues about the evolution and origin of the mantle, the thickest of earths inner layers. after shining a laser into hundreds of diamonds, probing their composition, mcneill spotted something he hadnt seen before: a speck of a mineral called ringwoodite. though thought to be plentiful in the planets deep, high - pressure interior, scientists had previously seen the mineral only in meteorites, or synthesized in labs. within that speck of ringwoodite, it turned out, was something stranger: a tiny bit of water, trapped and distributed microscopically in the mineral during its formation. pearson completed a detailed analysis of the diamond in 2014, confirming the waters discovery. adapted from shannon palus, \diamonds reveal hidden oceans in earths mantle.\ ©2014 by kalmbach publishing co. question the passage implies that the discovery of water within ringwoodite is significant because it confirms pearson and mcneills original hypothesis about the origin of earths mantle, proves that the structure of earths mantle is similar to that of meteorites, means that scientists have discovered a way to synthesize ringwoodite in labs, indicates that there may be more water in earths mantle than scientists previously thought

Explanation:

The passage starts by suggesting vast amounts of water might be deep in Earth. Then it details the discovery of water within ringwoodite in diamonds from the mantle. This implies that there could be more water in the mantle than previously thought, as water was found in a place (ringwoodite) where it was not expected in this context. There is no mention of Pearson and McNeill's hypothesis about the mantle's origin being confirmed, no comparison of the mantle's structure to meteorites, and no indication of a way to synthesize ringwoodite in labs.

Answer:

D. Indicates that there may be more water in Earth's mantle than scientists previously thought