Scientists have discovered "sunken worlds" in the Earth's mantle that should not be there

Potential areas of ancient crust have been discovered deep in the Earth's mantle. These "sunken worlds," as researchers sometimes call them, were discovered thanks to a new way of measuring the structures of the interior of our planet.

The innovative mapping method gives scientists unique opportunities to explore the previously inaccessible depths of the Earth. However, these mysterious spots appear where they shouldn't be, Space.com writes.

For decades, scientists have been building a picture of the Earth's interior using seismographs, three-dimensional images created by measuring how seismic waves from earthquakes reflect deep inside our planet.

According to the researchers, this method has helped identify ancient areas of the Earth's crust known as subduction plates, which were pulled into the mantle through subduction zones where tectonic plates meet. For example, in October 2024, experts announced the discovery of a section of the seafloor that had sunk deep into the mantle beneath Easter Island.

Using a new type of seismographic imaging, the scientists showed that they had identified "numerous" potential subduction plates throughout the Earth's mantle.

However, unlike previously identified subducting plates, which are in areas where tectonic plates are currently colliding or have previously broken apart, some of the new anomalies are located in places where there has never been any known tectonic activity. It is not clear how they got there.

"With the new high-resolution model, we can see such anomalies everywhere in the Earth's mantle. But we don't know exactly what they are," said Thomas Schouten, a doctoral student at the ETH Zurich Geological Institute in Switzerland.

Scientists suggest that the spots found may be made of crustal material left over from the creation of the mantle 4 billion years ago. Or they could be made of other similarly dense material that has grown in the mantle over the past few hundred million years.

The researchers also speculate that the newly discovered spots could be subducted plates, mainly because seismic waves travel through them at the same speed. But more research is needed to determine if they are in fact similar.

"We need to calculate the different material parameters that can generate the observed velocities of different types of waves. That is, we need to dive deeper into the material properties behind the wave speed," Thomas Schouten emphasized.

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