Scientists have found a mysterious geological structure in the Pacific Ocean

Using seismic imaging, they discovered an ancient subduction zone beneath the East Pacific Rise, where the sea floor plunged into the mantle about 250 million years ago. The discovery helps explain anomalous structures in Earth's lower mantle, including the Pacific Large Low Shear Velocity Province (LLSVP), a massive region that has previously been a mystery to researchers.

A team of geologists led by Jingchuan Wang discovered an unusually wide area at a depth of 410 to 660 kilometers below the Earth's surface. Its thickness suggests that the cold parts of the oceanic plate got stuck in this transition zone of the mantle, slowing down its movement. The researchers note that this discovery challenges previously existing theories about the speed of movement of material inside the Earth.

Seismic imaging, according to the words scientists, is similar to computer tomography, allowing to look inside the planet and build detailed maps of structures, which until this moment remained hidden. The discovery raised many new questions about the interaction of deep Earth processes and surface geology.

This discovery is important for understanding the history of the movement of tectonic plates and can help in future studies not only of the Earth, but also of other planets.