11-04-2023, 12:23 AM
https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth...side-earth
The remnants of a protoplanet that slammed into Earth and created the moon may still be lurking deep in our planet's mantle.
New research suggests that this impactor, which hit a just-formed Earth 4.5 billion years ago, still exists in Earth's mantle as two mysterious "blobs" that have long puzzled geoscientists. These blobs, known as large low-shear-velocity provinces (LLVPs), are places where seismic waves move more slowly than the rest of the mantle, suggesting there's a difference in temperature, composition or both.
Together, the blobs make up about 4% of the mantle. One is beneath Africa and the other is beneath the Pacific Ocean.
Well, if one bit is beneath Africa and the other is beneath the Pacific Ocean, then they are rather spread out. But that makes sense, given that this body would've been so big
!
Though, in some ways, it's surprising that any recognisable remnants would be left at all after billions of years
.
The remnants of a protoplanet that slammed into Earth and created the moon may still be lurking deep in our planet's mantle.
New research suggests that this impactor, which hit a just-formed Earth 4.5 billion years ago, still exists in Earth's mantle as two mysterious "blobs" that have long puzzled geoscientists. These blobs, known as large low-shear-velocity provinces (LLVPs), are places where seismic waves move more slowly than the rest of the mantle, suggesting there's a difference in temperature, composition or both.
Together, the blobs make up about 4% of the mantle. One is beneath Africa and the other is beneath the Pacific Ocean.
Well, if one bit is beneath Africa and the other is beneath the Pacific Ocean, then they are rather spread out. But that makes sense, given that this body would've been so big
! Though, in some ways, it's surprising that any recognisable remnants would be left at all after billions of years
.