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3mo ago

Seismic Imaging Finds 20-Kilometer Buoyant Layer Beneath Bermuda

Researchers say a less-dense underplating from Bermuda’s last volcanism can keep the seafloor about 500 meters higher without a hot mantle plume.

Científicos hallaron una capa de roca de casi 20 kilómetros de espesor bajo el Triángulo de las Bermudas.
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Las islas Bermudas, uno de los puntos que, junto a Puerto Rico y Miami, forman el Triangulo de las Bermudas.
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Overview

  • The peer-reviewed study, published in Geophysical Research Letters by William D. Frazer (Carnegie Science) and Jeffrey Park (Yale), analyzed seismic waves from 396 distant earthquakes recorded at a permanent Bermuda station.
  • Imaging to roughly 50 kilometers depth revealed an anomalous rock layer about 20 kilometers thick situated beneath the oceanic crust within the tectonic plate.
  • The layer is estimated to be about 50 kg/m³ less dense than surrounding mantle, with an approximate density of 3,250 kg/m³, providing long-term buoyant support.
  • Findings offer a plume-free explanation for the Bermuda swell, consistent with normal regional mantle temperatures and heat flow and with volcanism that ended 30–35 million years ago.
  • The authors hypothesize the layer formed as mantle-derived material was injected and solidified during late-stage volcanism, and they are surveying other islands as outside experts, including Sarah Mazza of Smith College, note the scenario is plausible.