Tiny core signal found in Hawaiian lava shows Earth's interior isn't sealed
Geochemists detected a core-like ruthenium-100 isotope signature in Hawaiian basalts, indicating trace amounts of Earth’s core material mix into the mantle plume feeding Hawaii’s volcanism. While this supports the idea that the core is not fully isolated from the mantle, the signal is tiny and gold itself was not enriched in the rocks, so there’s no mining implication. The finding suggests a leaky core–mantle boundary and raises questions about whether similar core-derived signatures appear in other deep-mantle plumes.