Earth’s crust is ‘dripping’ beneath our feet, scientists warn

Scientists have discovered a strange—and somewhat alarming—geological phenomenon: parts of Earth’s crust are slowly “dripping” deeper into the planet’s interior.

This finding coincides with the identification of a new class of tectonic plates that may be responsible for triggering the process.

The phenomenon is described in a recent study published in Nature Communications, focusing on a land depression known as the Konya Basin, located in the Central Anatolian Plateau in Turkey.

According to the research, beneath the basin, the Earth’s crust is gradually sinking deeper into the planet through a process recently identified as lithospheric dripping.

Geologists have been aware of this process in theory—it occurs when portions of the lithosphere (the rigid outer layer of Earth) are heated to the point where they become more viscous, eventually dripping downward like thick fluid.

While studying the Anatolian Plateau, University of Toronto geophysicist Julia Andersen said her team noticed something unusual in satellite imagery. “We saw a circular pattern,” she said, “which led us to examine other geophysical data beneath the surface, where we detected a seismic anomaly in the upper mantle and a thickened crust.”

“As the lithosphere thickened and began to drip beneath the region,” added Earth scientist Russell Pysklywec, also of the University of Toronto. “It created a surface depression. Later, when that heavy material broke off and sank deeper into the mantle, the basin rebounded.”

(QG - Source: Indy 100 - Picture : © Unsplash)