Scientists to probe gaping hole in the Earth's crust
Welsh scientists are to set off on a journey to investigate a gaping hole in the Earth's surface three kilometres beneath the ocean. The researchers from Cardiff University have discovered thousands of square kilometres of seafloor left uncovered by the Earth's crust in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Dr Chris MacLeod of Cardiff University described the find as a 'startling discovery'. He said: 'There are a few places around the world where we can see bits of mantle rock but none where we can have such direct access. 'It's very unusual to find a place where the Earth doesn't have a crust and conventional theories have difficulty in explaining it,' he added. The discovery was made at the exact boundary between the African and North American plates, where the normal process of 'seafloor spreading' had somehow gone wrong. Normally, with the movement of tectonic plates, the space between the plates is filled up by the mantle, which rises to the surface and then melts and forms the new crust. In this case, the plates are spreading as usual but the crust is not appearing. Dr MacLeod, a marine geologist, will set off with other scientists on the new research vessel RRS James Cook to build images of the seafloor using sonars and a robotic drill to pick up rock samples. The researchers hope to solve the mystery and shed some light on plate tectonics, and maybe even climate change.
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