The missing crust

fascinating...

Welsh scientists are investigating a startling discovery in the Atlantic Ocean: Part of the Earth's mantle cover is missing.

Cardiff University scientists discovered an area extending thousands of square miles in the middle of the Atlantic in which the Earth's mantle -- the deep interior of the Earth, normally covered by crust many miles thick -- is exposed on the sea floor, nearly 10,000 feet below the surface.

Marine geologist Chris MacLeod of the university's School of Earth, Ocean and Planetary Sciences said: "This discovery is like an open wound on the surface of the Earth. Was the crust never there? Was it once there but then torn away on huge geological faults? If so, then how and why?"

you can also follow the progress of the scientific investigation here...

In March-April 2007, a team of scientists from Durham University, Cardiff University and NOCS will board the RRS James Cook to visit this special area of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which is called the Fifteen-Twenty Fracture Zone (FTFZ for short - the map on the [below] shows where this is located).

Image of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. You can see how the ridge is broken up into segments by fractures running roughly perpendicular to the ridge axis. The red dot shows the area where the team on board the ship will be working. Bathymetric image courtesy GEBCO.

cool...

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