08/05/2026
Journey to the of the : A mystery has puzzled for decades – where has the Earth’s missing lead gone? Rocks on the surface contain more “young” lead than theory predicts, giving the impression that the Earth is much younger than it’s supposed to be.
To find this missing lead, researchers led by focused on the behaviour of lead sulphide, a likely candidate for how lead is stored in the Earth.
Using computer simulations, they showed that lead sulphide becomes extraordinarily stable under extreme pressures, which are conditions that can be found deep in the Earth’s mantle. In fact, it can remain solid at temperatures as high as 5,000°C.
The finding suggests that hidden reservoirs of ancient lead could have formed early in Earth’s history and then remained tucked away deep in the mantle. There are also cosmic implications as the study changes our understanding of the chemistry of planets.
https://ntu.sg/rc-lead
NTU Asian School of the Environment