Underground anomalies discovered for the first time leave scientists baffled

They have uncovered several unexplored areas of the Earth's lower mantle.

To achieve these discoveries, the researchers used a new high-resolution model of the Earth's mantle. The results showed submerged rocky areas beneath the world's major oceans and also within the interiors of continents.

"It seems that these regions in the Earth's mantle are much more widespread than they were thought to be," said Thomas Schouten, lead author and doctoral researcher at ETH Zurich's Geological Institute.

The causes of these geological irregularities remain unclear.

These ancient pieces of material could be silica-rich remnants that have been present since the mantle's creation approximately 4 billion years ago and were able to endure through the mantle's shifting movements. Alternatively, these formations might be areas where iron-rich rocks have collected due to the mantle's movement over billions of years, said Thomas Schouten.

(I couldn't find the original text. Please provide the text to paraphrase.)

Be sure to read all our articles on MSN by subscribing to our content. Click on 'follow' next to our logo above.