'Earth’s hidden giants': Two sunken ‘continents’ under Africa & Pacific may flip our planet
'Earth’s hidden giants': Two sunken ‘continents’ under Africa & Pacific may flip our planet
Produced by: Mohsin Shaikh
Deep Earth Mystery
Massive continent-sized mineral structures beneath Africa and the Pacific could be disrupting Earth’s magnetic field.
Magnetic Instability
James Panton and Cardiff University researchers suggest these mantle anomalies may be unbalancing Earth’s magnetosphere.
Sunken Continents
The two structures, each up to 900 km high and thousands of km wide, were first revealed by seismic data in the 1980s.
Mantle Secrets
Scientists believe these structures contain recycled oceanic crust, covering up to 30% of Earth’s outer core and slowing seismic waves.
Pacific vs. Africa
The Pacific anomaly contains 50% more fresh oceanic crust, making it denser than the African mantle structure.
Heat Imbalance
The structures block heat from escaping evenly, potentially disrupting convection currents that generate Earth’s magnetic shield.
Magnetic Weakening
The African anomaly has already been linked to a weakening magnetic field, raising concerns about future geomagnetic shifts.
Ring of Fire’s Role
The Pacific anomaly is fed by constant subduction, while the African anomaly contains older, more mixed crust.
Earth’s Magnetic Future
Scientists need gravitational field data to fully understand how these mantle structures could alter Earth’s protective magnetosphere.
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