Weird structures buried below Pacific Ocean discovered by scientists
While studying earthquakes and the composition of the Pacific Ocean mantle, scientists have uncovered strange underwater structures.
According to IFLScience, some of these formations appear to be colder or have a different composition compared to their surroundings.
The research team described these deep structures as a major mystery, admitting they have no clear understanding of what they are made of.
Thomas Schouten, first author and doctoral student at the Geological Institute of ETH Zurich, said: "That's our dilemma. With the new high-resolution model, we can see such anomalies everywhere in the Earth's mantle. But we don't know exactly what they are or what material is creating the patterns we have uncovered."
He added: "We think that the anomalies in the lower mantle have a variety of origins. It could be either ancient, silica-rich material that has been there since the formation of the mantle about four billion years ago and has survived despite the convective movements in the mantle, or zones where iron-rich rocks accumulate as a consequence of these mantle movements over billions of years."
(QG - Source: Indy100 / Picture: © Unsplash)