Science - In the heart of the earth's mantle: vast plains and very high mountains
The study of the seismic waves of a violent earthquake gives us a new geography of the subsoil, with science fiction views.
Under the earth's crust - which goes up to a few tens of kilometers deep - there is the mantle, extends from the crust to the outer core of the planet, which begins at about 2,900 kilometers deep. The mantle is divided into two large regions: the first ends about 660 kilometers below the surface, the second reaches up to the outer core. The difference between the upper mantle and the lower mantle is not chemical, but physical: the same elements that make up the upper mantle are also found in the lower mantle, but structured in a different way
A study reveals the existence of a surprising geography near the boundary between the two parts of the mantle, with impressive "mountain ranges", "something unique", say the researchers, with peaks alternating with large plains in an environment that it would make the Himalayan and Karakoram regions pale.
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