Unraveling the Mystery of the Gravity Hole in the Indian Ocean

Scientists have been intrigued by a massive "gravity hole" in the Indian Ocean, which is a concentrated area where the effects of Earth's gravity are lower than average. A recent study suggests that this depression, known as the Indian Ocean geoid low (IOGL), may have been formed by a huge mass in the Earth's mantle, called the "African blob," being pushed underneath the Indian Ocean. The IOGL likely took its current shape around 20 million years ago due to the sinking of slabs from an ancient ocean called the Tethys Ocean. However, there are still unanswered questions about the exact factors contributing to the existence of the IOGL.