Researchers from Arizona State University published a study on two blobs inside the mantle of Earth. Nobody is sure what they're made of.
, Earth has a thin outer crust, a thick viscous mantle, a fluid outer core, and a solid inner core. The mantle contains both massive blob-like structures. Scientists who studied them call the blobs Large Low-Shear-Velocity Provinces . They are each the size of a continent and 100 times taller than Mt. Everest, but they're not exactly the same.
"The African anomaly has a relatively lower density and thus may be less stable than the Pacific anomaly, implying [they] have different compositions, dynamics and evolution histories," the study's authors wrote about the LLSVPs.According to the researchers, the African anomaly may have been rising toward the surface more recently than the Pacific Ocean blob. In fact, it may affect the Earth's topography, gravity, plate motion and even create or worsen volcanic activity.
In many ways, though, the blobs don't necessarily mean something is wrong or that we're all in imminent danger. Quite the opposite. Qian Yuan, lead author on the study,that understanding these structures may highlight the evolution of our planet and the history behind Earth's deepest layers. "Our [work] provides new insights on the nature of the Earth’s largest structures in the deep interior and their interaction with the surrounding mantle," Yuan said in the release. "This has far-reaching implications for scientists trying to understand the present-day status and the evolution of the deep mantle structure."
Sounds like we're not under imminent kaiju attack right now, but we'll be sure to report back if we hear of any alien activity.
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