THERE are ‘mysterious blobs’ deep within Earth and scientists have just had a proper look at one for the first time ever. That’s according to a new study published in Nature Communications, which discusses a ‘blob’ that’s 1,864 miles from Earth’s surface. The features within Earth’s core remain a bit of mystery because they’re so deep […]
THERE are ‘mysterious blobs’ deep within Earth and scientists have just had a proper look at one for the first time ever.
That’s according to a new study published in Nature Communications, which discusses a ‘blob’ that’s 1,864 miles from Earth’s surface.
The features within Earth’s core remain a bit of mystery because they’re so deep down they’re hard to study.
Scientists use a range of tools to try and image the areas below the surface but they’ve produced pretty grainy results until now.
Recent research focused on a rather circular underground pocket called an ultra-low velocity zone.
It is located beneath Hawaii.
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Geophysicist Zhi Li, from the University of Cambridge, said: “Of all Earth’s deep interior features, these are the most fascinating and complex.
“We’ve now got the first solid evidence to show their internal structure – it’s a real milestone in deep Earth seismology.”
The images were made by monitoring signals sent through the Earth’s surface and computer modeling the results.
This created a kilometer-scale of ‘the blob’, or rock pocket, in question.
Earth’s core is said to be made up of hot molten areas as well as solid iron and nickel.
Studying regions like this could help teach us more about earthquakes and volcanoes, which are both connected to Earth’s crust.
Scientists think there’s a link between seismic activity in ultra-low velocity zones and areas of increased volcanic activity.
The high-resolution imagery techniques used in the recent study could be used on more of these zones in the future.
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The zones deep within Earth could also teach us about the evolution of our planet.
Li added: “These low velocity zones are one of the most intricate features we see at extreme depths – if we expand our search, we are likely to see ever-increasing levels of complexity, both structural and chemical, at the core-mantle boundary.”
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