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A spot in the middle of the Indian Ocean has been raising eyebrows among geologists since it was discovered in 1948. It is the largest anomaly on Earth, an oceanic crater 105 meters below sea level, covering more than three million square kilometers. Dubbed the “Indian Ocean Geoid Low” or “Indian Ocean gravitational hole,” the phenomenon remains one of the planet’s greatest geological mysteries.
The story of this gigantic depression began with Dutch geophysicist Felix Andries Vening Meinesz, who identified it while studying geological properties aboard a ship. Since then, the largest anomaly on Earth has intrigued experts, leading teams around the world to search for answers about its origins.
Mystery with deep roots
Scientists at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru decided to use artificial intelligence and geological simulations to understand how this oceanic crater formed. The results, published in Geophysical Research Letters, suggest that the origin of the phenomenon is related to the disappearance of an ancient ocean called Tethys, which existed between the continents of Gondwana and Laurasia, in the Mesozoic era, more than 140 million years ago.
“The Earth was completely different back then,” explains Attreyee Ghosh, one of the study’s authors. “The oceans were in different places, and the density structure of the planet was also different.”
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The researchers ran 19 computer simulations that traced the movement of tectonic plates and the behavior of magma in the Earth's mantle, creating a detailed portrait of the planet in the distant past. The investigation revealed that "magma plumes," driven by the interaction between the mantle and oceanic plates, played a crucial role in the formation of the gravitational hole.
How Tethys shaped Earth's largest anomaly
When the ancient Tethys Ocean disappeared, the Indian subcontinent moved northward, separating from Gondwana and colliding with Asia. During this process, the Tethys oceanic plates were pushed into the Earth's mantle, creating the conditions for the largest anomaly on Earth. The resulting "plumes" brought less dense material to the surface, causing the gravitational depression.
This phenomenon is deeply linked to the movement of tectonic plates and the Earth's geological cycles. According to scientists, new tectonic shifts in the future could make the anomaly disappear completely, but this will take hundreds of millions of years.
The fascination continues
Despite decades of research, Earth’s largest anomaly remains an intriguing challenge for science. The combination of technological advances, such as artificial intelligence, and field studies has allowed scientists to make progress in understanding this gigantic geological mystery.
While the future of anomaly remains uncertain, one thing is clear: the Indian Ocean ocean crater holds secrets about the planet's deep history that, little by little, are being revealed.
Another excellent article, and as they say there is a lot to be discovered in the oceans, humans still have a lot to explore and we have a lot to discover there.
Good evening, I liked the article, I like watching stories about the oceans, bye, may GOD be with you.
I can't understand, only 35000 likes for an article with almost 1.000.000 Views, well-deserved like, excellent content, the author is the best, watch the interview with the team at Gentili