Scientists Claim That Earth's Mantle Is Divided Into Two Sections. Here's Why.

Science & Technology Science

Posted by NewAdmin on 2025-01-17 12:18:45 |

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A recent study reveals that the Earth's mantle is divided by the Pacific Ring of Fire, a geological feature that marks the formation and breakup of the supercontinent Pangaea.

The mantle is divided into two regions: the African domain and the Pacific domain. The African domain spans much of Earth's landmass, stretching from the eastern coasts of Asia and Australia, across Europe, Africa, and the Atlantic, to the western coast of North America. Meanwhile, the Pacific domain predominantly covers the Pacific Ocean. Research indicates that the mantle beneath the African domain exhibits a richer diversity of elements and isotopes compared to the Pacific domain.

This distinction reflects the last two supercontinent cycles over the past billion years, according to Luc Doucet, a senior research fellow in Earth and planetary sciences at Curtin University, who shared insights with Live Science. During this timeframe, two major supercontinents emerged: Rodinia, which formed around 1.2 billion years ago and broke apart approximately 750 million years ago, and Pangaea, which formed 335 million years ago and began breaking up 200 million years ago.

"What we see today is the outcome of transitions from Rodinia to Pangaea, and then the breakup of Pangaea," Doucet explained.

Both supercontinents formed over the region now identified as the African domain. As oceans closed between converging landmasses, oceanic crust was subducted beneath continents—a process that occasionally dragged fragments of continental rock into the mantle. This subduction process transported elements and isotopes from the continental crust into the mantle beneath the evolving supercontinents.

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