Scientists Have Discovered Massive Shapeshifting Blobs Under Earth’s Surface
Although space may seem like the final frontier to some people, we're still actively discovering things about our own little planet.
This article is more than 2 years old
Although space may seem like the final frontier to some people, we’re still actively discovering things about our own little planet, including the stuff that’s going on with the giant blobs under the surface of the Earth. While these massive globs have been known entities for a while, new scientific research and models have revealed even more information about these mysterious, shape-shifting enigmas.
The two blobs beneath the surface are much bigger than you may think — they’re literally the size of continents. One of the blobs is beneath Africa and another is beneath the Pacific Ocean. The masses go down nearly 1,800 miles, which is roughly halfway to the Earth’s core. One of the main theories surrounding the mysterious objects under the Earth’s surface is that they are where deep mantle plumes form, which are columns of hot rock that erupt violently when they push through the surface. Another theory is that the blobs can cause kimberlite, which is a reaction that pushes diamonds to the Earth’s surface.
The most recent models that scientists have put together show that the blobs may move and shift much more than what was originally thought. The shapeshifting and movement of the blobs break apart and gather in a similar way to continents and supercontinents. When the blobs form together, they create superblobs, which is the current configuration they can be observed in. Over many years, they will break apart again, continuing the process.
The blobs were once thought to be anchors that don’t move, but continued research has gradually shown that this likely isn’t the case. The research also revealed that the mass under Africa could have gathered in its present form as early as 60 million years ago, which is a much shorter timeframe than what was initially believed. Obviously, 60 million years is a long time for our species, but at a cosmic and even planetary scale, it’s not much. Earth formed about 4.5 billion years ago for context.
Research also indicates and agrees that the blobs likely are linked to tectonic plate movement in some way. While we’re learning more about the blobs, there are still a lot of lingering questions that remain unanswered. Questions like how the blobs were formed and what they’re made of are still up in the air. Ongoing research will surely reveal more about these blogs and help answer these questions. These studies help us to learn more about the history of our planet and how it forms, but there are practical applications as well. If scientists can understand the blobs better, they can more easily track the minerals associated with the blobs. Minerals such as diamonds and nickel, which is used in a number of energy technologies.
The blobs are definitely interesting, especially if you didn’t know these mysterious forms were drifting between our Earth’s surface and the core. As we learn more about the blobs, we’ll get more and more of these interesting facts and maybe we’ll have an easier way to mine important energy resources while we’re at it.
