While most eyes are up in the sky looking towards
space exploration,
there are plenty of places here on Earth we have
still yet to investigate.
But recently, geophysicists got a look at a spot deep
underneath the Earths crust.
For the first time, researchers use computational modeling techniques to
get a look at what's called the Ultra Low Velocity
zone.
It's an area of our planets deep interior some 1864
miles below the surface.
It's called the Ultra Low Velocity zone because Earth's natural
seismic waves travel extremely slowly through that layer.
Recently, while looking deep below the Hawaiian Islands,
scientists were able to get a more detailed look at
the zone structure.
Using high frequency signals, they recorded seismic waves as they
rippled through the zone,
giving researchers a kilometer by kilometer view of its composition.
This research is important as geophysicists believe that activity in
the ultra low velocity zone could be triggering volcanoes and
earthquakes,
meaning better understanding them could help us better understand and
perhaps even someday predict earthquakes and volcanoes.