Deep within the planet Earth, unseen by our eyes, are gigantic blobs of hot rock that extend hundreds of miles in every direction. These humongous blobs, which go by many names like "thermo-chemical piles" and "large low-shear velocity provinces" (LLSVPs) still baffle scientists up to this day.
Geologists don't know much about where these blobs came from or what they are, but they do know that they're gargantuan. The two biggest blobs, which sit deep below the Pacific Ocean and Africa, account for nearly 10% of the entire mantle's mass, one 2016 study found — and, if they sat on Earth's surface, the duo would each extend about 100 times higher than Mount Everest. However, new research suggests, even those lofty analogies may be underestimating just how big the blobs really are.
In a study published June 12 in the journal Science, researchers analyzed the seismic waves generated by earthquakes over nearly 30 years. They found several massive, never before-detected features along the edges of the Pacific blob.
Know more about this study over at Live Science.
(Image Credit: Sanne.cottaar/ Wikimedia Commons)