Scientists just found giant 'lava puddles' deep inside Earth
Researchers led by Yoshinori Miyazaki at Rutgers University have discovered two massive blobs—called LLSVPs—lurking about 2897km under the Pacific Ocean and Africa.
These mysterious structures slow down earthquake waves and are made of unusual stuff, different from the rest of the mantle.
The find could help us piece together how Earth formed in its earliest days.
How these 'lava puddles' changed our planet
Led by Yoshinori Miyazaki, the team found that these blobs didn't form like scientists expected.
Instead, the team hypothesizes that silicon and magnesium may have leaked from Earth's core into ancient magma, mixing things up and creating unique "lava puddles" that stuck around as LLSVPs.
These deep-down features may have shaped how Earth cools, erupts volcanoes, and even developed an atmosphere—all pretty important for life here.
Why this matters
Published in Nature Geoscience on September 12, 2025, this study shows that LLSVPs might be a kind of chemical time capsule for our planet.
Understanding them could reveal why Earth turned out so different from other planets—and maybe even what makes it special for life.