Super-hot rock blobs beneath Earth influence our planet's magnetic field
Scientists just discovered that two huge, super-hot rock "blobs" far beneath Africa and the Pacific have been quietly steering Earth's magnetic field for up to about 250 million years.
These underground giants sit nearly 3,000km down and are surrounded by cooler rock.
Blobs affect heat movement at core-mantle boundary
Turns out, these blobs mess with how heat moves at the boundary between Earth's core and mantle.
The hotter spots slow down liquid iron flow—which is key for generating our magnetic field—while cooler areas keep things moving.
Using ancient rock records and virtual Earth simulations, researchers found that only models with these extreme hot-and-cold zones matched what we see in real life.
Why these hidden giants matter
These hidden blobs help keep Earth's magnetic field stable (so it doesn't just collapse or go wild), challenging the old idea that our planet's magnetism is simple or uniform.
Plus, understanding them could unlock clues about how continents like Pangea formed and broke apart, ancient climate shifts, and even where natural resources come from.