Mysterious Hybrid Universe is a work of fiction unfolding daily in front of you
As National Geographic revealed in its popular docuseries X-Ray Earth, gigantic anomalies are lurking beneath the ocean floor.
Two mammoth balls of melted rock called plumes are rising up from the Earth’s centre. About 200km (125 miles) wide, the fire bubbles are pressing upwards on the ocean’s floor west of Seatle, Washington.
This is also where two tectonic plates – the Pacific and North American – meet and crash into each other. As the Pacific tectonic plate slides beneath the American one, pressure from the gigantic fire bubbles jams the plates together.
Scientists believe that when this tectonic wrestle eventually snaps, it will release the energy built up and cause a devastating earthquake. They call it a megathrust.
Around 1,100 sensors on land and in the sea are constantly monitoring the area where the colossal tectonic fight is taking place.
Scientists gathered data suggesting that what’s giving the fireballs momentum is an enormous force originating somewhere from inside the Earth. However, scientists agree that it’s difficult to pinpoint the origin of this mysterious energy.
The network of sensors continuously scans the Earth, creating a 3D map of its interior. However, they can only detect larger structures, so scientists may not be able to localize the anomaly’s source.
This is the first time such research has been conducted, and scientists hope to better understand the force behind devastating earthquakes.
Hybrid Universe managed to speak to a geologist from a local office.
“More data means we can better predict when this force of nature is about to strike. So we need to focus on digging deep inside Earth’s core to learn what other mysterious forces are lurking there”, she said.
Strange energy that powers two gigantic fireballs may also be related to the recent event when Earth’s core stopped. Scientists are currently reviewing the data looking for connections between the two, seemingly separate, events.
