Hidden mantle blobs could rewrite Earth's tectonic story
Seismologists using high-resolution full-waveform inversion on earthquake data detected large, anomalous pockets in the lower mantle beneath the Pacific, visible as regions where seismic waves move unusually fast or slow. These “sunken worlds” may be remnants of ancient plates or other mantle materials, challenging traditional ideas about subduction and plate evolution. A ETH Zurich–Caltech team notes the exact composition is unclear and more data and methods (including EM signals and mineral physics) are needed, but the findings could require updates to models of mantle convection and heat transfer. The study appears in Scientific Reports.
