{"id":6382,"date":"2024-10-03T14:45:46","date_gmt":"2024-10-03T14:45:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/?p=6382"},"modified":"2024-10-17T14:19:32","modified_gmt":"2024-10-17T14:19:32","slug":"discovery-of-ancient-seafloor-deep-inside-earth-could-rewrite-geological-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/discovery-of-ancient-seafloor-deep-inside-earth-could-rewrite-geological-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Discovery of Ancient Seafloor Deep Inside Earth Could Rewrite Geological History"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-blockquote uagb-block-e7eb3fc3 uagb-blockquote__skin-border uagb-blockquote__stack-img-none\"><blockquote class=\"uagb-blockquote\"><div class=\"uagb-blockquote__content\">University of Maryland researchers have unveiled evidence of an ancient seafloor buried deep within Earth&#8217;s mantle. This breakthrough not only challenges existing theories on Earth&#8217;s internal structure but also offers a unique glimpse into our planet&#8217;s geological past.<\/div><footer><div class=\"uagb-blockquote__author-wrap uagb-blockquote__author-at-left\"><\/div><\/footer><\/blockquote><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-content-justification-space-between is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-0dfbf163 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\"><div style=\"font-size:16px;\" class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-post-author\"><div class=\"wp-block-post-author__content\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-author__name\">The University Network<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share uagb-social-share__outer-wrap uagb-social-share__layout-horizontal uagb-block-ee584a31\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-ec619ce7\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"facebook\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\"><path d=\"M504 256C504 119 393 8 256 8S8 119 8 256c0 123.8 90.69 226.4 209.3 245V327.7h-63V256h63v-54.64c0-62.15 37-96.48 93.67-96.48 27.14 0 55.52 4.84 55.52 4.84v61h-31.28c-30.8 0-40.41 19.12-40.41 38.73V256h68.78l-11 71.69h-57.78V501C413.3 482.4 504 379.8 504 256z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-32d99934\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"twitter\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\"><path d=\"M389.2 48h70.6L305.6 224.2 487 464H345L233.7 318.6 106.5 464H35.8L200.7 275.5 26.8 48H172.4L272.9 180.9 389.2 48zM364.4 421.8h39.1L151.1 88h-42L364.4 421.8z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-1d136f14\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?url=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"linkedin\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M416 32H31.9C14.3 32 0 46.5 0 64.3v383.4C0 465.5 14.3 480 31.9 480H416c17.6 0 32-14.5 32-32.3V64.3c0-17.8-14.4-32.3-32-32.3zM135.4 416H69V202.2h66.5V416zm-33.2-243c-21.3 0-38.5-17.3-38.5-38.5S80.9 96 102.2 96c21.2 0 38.5 17.3 38.5 38.5 0 21.3-17.2 38.5-38.5 38.5zm282.1 243h-66.4V312c0-24.8-.5-56.7-34.5-56.7-34.6 0-39.9 27-39.9 54.9V416h-66.4V202.2h63.7v29.2h.9c8.9-16.8 30.6-34.5 62.9-34.5 67.2 0 79.7 44.3 79.7 101.9V416z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>University of Maryland scientists, led by postdoctoral researcher Jingchuan Wang, have uncovered extraordinary evidence of an ancient seafloor residing deep within Earth&#8217;s mantle, dating back to the time of dinosaurs. This discovery, situated at the East Pacific Rise \u2014 a tectonic plate boundary within the southeastern Pacific Ocean \u2014 challenges long-standing theories about the underground makeup and history of our planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wang and his team, using state-of-the-art seismic imaging techniques, penetrated the Earth&#8217;s mantle to unprecedented depths. They discovered an abnormally thick area in the mantle transition zone, a pivotal layer situated between 410 to 660 kilometers beneath the Earth&#8217;s surface, which marks the boundary between upper and lower mantles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;This thickened area is like a fossilized fingerprint of an ancient piece of seafloor that subducted into the Earth approximately 250 million years ago,&#8221; Wang said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/cmns.umd.edu\/news-events\/news\/nicholas-schmerr-vedran-lekic-ancient-sunken-seafloor-reveals-earths-deep-secrets\" title=\"\">news release<\/a>. &#8220;It&#8217;s giving us a glimpse into Earth\u2019s past that we\u2019ve never had before.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Subduction, the process where one tectonic plate dives beneath another, often leaves clues such as earthquakes, volcanoes and marine trenches. However, rather than focusing on surface evidence, Wang, alongside Vedran Lekic, a geology professor, and Nicholas Schmerr, an associate professor of geology, examined seismic waves to map the mantle&#8217;s hidden structures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;You can think of seismic imaging as something similar to a CT scan. It\u2019s basically allowed us to have a cross-sectional view of our planet\u2019s insides,&#8221; Wang added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The team&#8217;s seismic imaging revealed an &#8220;ancient subduction slab,&#8221; offering new insights into the deep Earth&#8217;s relationship with surface geology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Remarkably, the researchers found that material moves through Earth&#8217;s interior more slowly than previously thought. They speculate that the thickened mantle portion may contain colder material, indicating some oceanic slabs get stalled in the mantle transition zone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;We found that in this region, the material was sinking at about half the speed we expected, which suggests that the mantle transition zone can act like a barrier and slow down the movement of material through the Earth,&#8221; added Wang. &#8220;Our discovery opens up new questions about how the deep Earth influences what we see on the surface across vast distances and timescales.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Looking forward, the research team has set their sights on extending their exploration to other regions of the Pacific Ocean and beyond. Wang aims to create a more comprehensive map of ancient subduction and upwelling zones, enriching understanding of both deep and surface Earth structures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis is just the beginning,\u201d Wang concluded. \u201cWe believe that there are many more ancient structures waiting to be discovered in Earth\u2019s deep interior. Each one has the potential to reveal many new insights about our planet\u2019s complex past \u2014 and even lead to a better understanding of other planets beyond ours.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The study was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.science.org\/doi\/10.1126\/sciadv.ado1219\" title=\"\">published<\/a> in the journal Science Advances. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>University of Maryland scientists, led by postdoctoral researcher Jingchuan Wang, have uncovered extraordinary evidence of an ancient seafloor residing deep within Earth&#8217;s mantle, dating back to the time of dinosaurs. This discovery, situated at the East Pacific Rise \u2014 a tectonic plate boundary within the southeastern Pacific Ocean \u2014 challenges long-standing theories about the underground [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-no-separators","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-universe"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"The University Network","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/author\/funky_junkie\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"University of Maryland scientists, led by postdoctoral researcher Jingchuan Wang, have uncovered extraordinary evidence of an ancient seafloor residing deep within Earth&#8217;s mantle, dating back to the time of dinosaurs. This discovery, situated at the East Pacific Rise \u2014 a tectonic plate boundary within the southeastern Pacific Ocean \u2014 challenges long-standing theories about the underground&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6382"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6382\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6662,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6382\/revisions\/6662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}