Geophysicists from ETH Zurich and the California Institute of Technology have discovered unusual zones beneath the western Pacific Ocean. Using high-resolution seismic tomography, they identified areas where seismic waves behave in unexpected ways, challenging existing theories of tectonics. This finding calls into question our understanding of processes occurring in Earth’s mantle.
According to the researchers, these anomalies could represent ancient silicon-rich rock formations preserved since the planet’s formation or regions with high concentrations of iron-bearing materials. However, the exact nature of these structures remains unknown. The discovery underscores the need to revise theoretical models and conduct further studies on Earth’s mantle composition and dynamics.
One of the researchers likened this finding to unexpectedly discovering an artery in the human body where none was thought to exist.
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