Inside our planet are two anomalies the size of a continent that may answer a question many scientists are asking.
Luna Photo: Unsplash
Our satellite, the Luna, is a subject of interest. A frequent question in the field of science relates to its origin: How did Earth's satellite form?
An international research team studied the enormous masses located at a depth of 2,900 kilometers “Low Speed Provinces“It was discovered that this anomaly could be a remnant of a collision a few years ago 4.5 billion years It created the moon.
This research goes further, as it provides new data not only on the internal structure of the planet, but also on it Long-term evolution.
Journey to the Moon. Photo: Unsplash.
The study was carried out on the basis of Calculation methods Fluid mechanics started in Shanghai Astronomical Observatory (SHAO) From the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
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An unsolved puzzle
The prevailing theory of the Moon's formation is at a later stage of Earth's development, approx 4.5 billion yearsA great conflict ensued, which ““Great Impact”, Between the primordial Earth (Gia) and a Mars-sized asteroid called Thea. The moon emerged from the wreckage of this crash.
The theory explained that since Gaia and Thea were independent bodies composed of different matter, the Moon (dominated by the matter Thea) and the Earth (dominated by the matter Gaia) must exist. Different combinations.
Luna Photo: Unsplash.
However, high-precision isotopic measurements later revealed it The compositions of Earth and Moon are similarThis puts an end to this very popular theory.
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New research that challenges the established
On this occasion, scientists researched the formation of the moon in 2017 using a new computational fluid dynamics method. Finite Meshless Mass (MFM).
Through this particular approach, it was discovered that the early Earth was visualized mantle layer After impact, with various combinations and positions of top and bottom. First presented by A Magma oceanFormed by careful mixing of Gaia and Thea, the latter was mostly present Retains the material composition of the solid and Gaia.
After talking with geophysicists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, the team concluded that the mantle could be stacked. Lasting To this day.
The scientific team works with samples from the moon. Photo: JSC/NASA
In fact, Earth's entire lower mantle may still dominate Meaning Kayano Before impact. The giant impact that created the moon appears The origin of early mantle heterogeneity and marks the starting point of Earth's geological evolution at 4.5 billion years.
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Large low-velocity provinces
There are two irregular areas Large Low Velocity Provinces (LLVP), It extends thousands of kilometers below the crust. One lies under the African tectonic plate and the other under the Pacific tectonic plate.
LLVPs have important implications Mantle evolution, separation and accretion of supercontinents and structures Earth's tectonic plates.
According to new research, LLVPs may have evolved from smaller The subject is theano That got into Gaia's lower blanket. Jacob Kegeris of the NASA Ames Research Center confirmed this result using traditional methods Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH).
Models of the Moon. Photo: JSC/NASA
The research team also calculated that this cyan mantle is as rich in material as lunar rocks Hierro, making it denser than the surrounding Gaia matter. This caused The mantle sinks rapidly to the bottom, forming two main regions.
