US EditionA 20-Kilometer-Thick Rock Layer May Finally Solve One of Bermuda’s Biggest Mysteries
Seismic waves reveal a 20 km thick low-density mantle layer buoying Bermuda, challenging traditional volcanic plume models, study authors say.
- A seismic study published in Geophysical Research Letters found a thick, low-density mantle layer beneath Bermuda starting about 21 kilometers down and stretching roughly 20 kilometers.
- Bermuda formed about 30-35 million years ago but shows no chain of older islands or ongoing heat flow typical of mantle plumes, unlike classic plume islands such as Hawaii.
- Using seismic records from earthquakes of magnitude at least 5.5, researchers stacked signals from 396 earthquakes at Bermuda seismic station, revealing a layer about 50 kilograms per cubic meter lighter and 1.5% less dense that could lift the seafloor roughly 500 meters.
- The study's authors say the seismic evidence means mantle-plume theory must be rewritten, noting Bermuda has not significantly subsided since its last volcanism; William Frazer plans to test other oceanic islands.
- The authors estimate the feature extends 50-100 kilometers from Bermuda, unusually thick and buoyant compared to French Polynesia; Frazer told LiveScience, `Typically, you have the bottom of the oceanic crust and then it would be expected to be the mantle.
15 Articles
15 Articles
Giant Structure Beneath Bermuda Surprises Scientists
Bermuda Island. Credit: Premshree Pillai / Flickr / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 A giant structure hidden deep beneath the Atlantic Ocean is giving scientists a new reason to look past the legends of the Bermuda Triangle and focus instead on what lies below the seafloor. Researchers have identified an unusually thick layer of rock buried beneath the oceanic crust under Bermuda. The layer measures about 12.4 miles (20 kilometers) in thickness. Scientists say …
Scientists baffled by giant structure hidden beneath Bermuda Triangle 'unlike anything else on Earth'
A massive rock layer unlike anything else found on the planet has been discovered beneath the island of Bermuda, and scientists have been left bemused.The layer measures 12.4 miles thick and sits just below the oceanic crust.Dr William Frazer, a seismologist at Carnegie Science in Washington DC, and Yale University Professor Jeffrey Park made the discovery by analysing seismic waves from distant earthquakes recorded at a station on Bermuda.By tr…
Bermuda’s waters are hiding a mysterious giant structure that’s ‘unlike anything else on Earth’: scientists
In a new study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, scientists believe they discovered the reason why Bermuda never sank after its volcanoes shut down more than 30 million years ago.
Massive rock structure discovered deep beneath Bermuda Island
Move aside, Bermuda Triangle: The newest North Atlantic mystery lies beneath this enigmatic archipelago. Scientists have discovered a strange, 12.4-mile-thick (20 kilometers) rock layer below the oceanic crust under Bermuda. This level of thickness has never been seen in any other similar layer worldwide. "Typically, you have the bottom of the oceanic crust and then it would be expected to be the mantle," said study lead author William Frazer, a…
A layer of rocky material nearly 20 kilometers thick could be the key to explaining why the Bermuda Islands seem to float above the surrounding ocean.
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