From Atlantis to El Dorado and Avalon, legend tells us that Earth is dotted with lost lands that once met a dramatic downfall. While these are commonly considered inventive myths, a new study reveals evidence for 'a lost world' beneath the Pacific Ocean.
![[From Atlantis to El Dorado and Avalon, legend tells us that Earth is dotted with lost lands that once met a dramatic downfall. Pictured, a depiction of Atlantis]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/10/11/88483813-14270019-From_Atlantis_to_El_Dorado_and_Avalon_legend_tells_us_that_Earth-m-58_1736507645265.jpg)
Scientists at ETH Zurich and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have found massive structures deep beneath the Pacific waters that 'shouldn't exist'. This mystery material – which is making seismic waves in the region behave strangely – could be evidence of a lost land from hundreds of millions of years ago.
![[Earth is made up of three layers – the crust, the mantle and the core, which was later separated into 'inner' and 'outer'. A recent study suggested the existence of an 'innermost core' too]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/10/09/40033906-14270019-A_new_study_claims_there_s_another_dense_ball_within_the_Earth_s-a-44_1736500438849.jpg)
According to current scientific theories, the anomalous material in the lower mantle, about 600 miles (1,000km) beneath the water, 'should not be found' there. Described as a 'major mystery', the findings challenge 'our current understanding of how the Earth works', according to researchers.
![[The anomalous findings, described as a 'major mystery', challenge 'our current understanding of how the Earth works'. In this image, A and B show the locations of seismic stations along the Pacific. C to F show the seismic wave anomalies in traditional map view and as cross-section]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/10/10/93950967-14270019-The_findings_described_as_a_major_mystery_-a-48_1736503809549.jpg)
'Determining Earth's structure is paramount to unravel its interior dynamics,' say the team in their paper, published in Scientific Reports. 'These findings suggest more diverse origins for these anomalies in Earth's lower mantle.'. Using a new model, researchers uncover zones in the Earth's lower mantle where seismic waves travel slower (red) or faster (blue) - and cannot come from subducted plates. The large blue zone in the western Pacific (right above the center of the image) was previously unknown.
![[Seismic activity can be detected along the tectonic plate's borders, where the plates rub up against each other. But in the ancient past, large plates have since disappeared into Earth's mantle by means of 'subduction']](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/10/09/76333479-14270019-In_subduction_zones_the_Earth_s_tectonic_plates_converge_and_one-a-47_1736502160987.jpg)
