It is a huge mountain, four-five times taller than Mount Everest! Scientists at Arizona State University recently found such huge mountain ranges near the Earth’s core. They have claimed that the mountain is located between the core and the mantle of the Earth.

Scientists have discovered these massive underground mountain ranges, dubbed Ultra-Low Velocity Zones (ULVZ), by analysing seismic data from waves generated by earthquakes and atomic explosions. They also received help from the Seismology Centre of Antarctica in this venture. While Mount Everest is around 8.8km high from the surface, the underground mountains are said to be over 38km in height. This measurement helps one realise how big these mountains are.

It may be noted that the core is responsible for generating magnetic field of the Earth. Some of the materials from it can also be ejected up to the surface of the Earth during volcanic eruptions. Researchers have argued that these underground peaks may play a critical role in how heat escapes the Earth’s core.

Arizona State University Geophysicist Edward Garnero has issued a statement, mentioning: “Analysing 1000’s of seismic recordings from Antarctica, our high-definition imaging method found thin anomalous zones of material at the CMB (Core-Mantle Boundary) everywhere we probed.” He stressed: “The material’s thickness varies from a few kilometres to 10’s of kilometres. This suggests we are seeing mountains on the core, in some places up to five times taller than Mt Everest.”

Scientists are of the opinion that the tectonic plate might have penetrated inside the mantle, and spread between mantle and core to form these mountains, which contain basalt stones, as well as petrified rocks. They have explained that these ancient formations were created when oceanic crusts were forced into the Earth’s interior. The formation might have begun with tectonic plates slipping down into the Earth’s mantle and sinking to the CMB. Later, they slowly and gradually spread out to form an assortment of structures, leaving a trail of both mountains and blobs. In other words, both are made from ancient oceanic crust, a combination of basalt rock and sediments from the ocean floor, albeit transformed by intense heat and pressure.

Talking to the media, study co-author and University of Alabama Geoscientist Samantha Hansen said: “Seismic investigations, such as ours, provide the highest resolution imaging of the interior structure of our planet, and we are finding that this structure is vastly more complicated than once thought.” She added: “Our research provides important connections between shallow and deep Earth structure and the overall processes driving our planet.”

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das