Follow Us;Resize=(820,462) "Mysterious 'ghost plume' in Oman – Scientists hint Earth's core could be LEAKING")
Researchers have discovered a colossal, hidden column of heat surging upward from the Earth’s core beneath eastern Oman — a phenomenon they’ve dubbed a “ghost plume.”
Researchers have discovered a colossal, hidden column of heat surging upward from the Earth’s core beneath eastern Oman — a phenomenon they’ve dubbed a “ghost plume.”
This mysterious geological entity, rising from a staggering depth of 410 miles (660 km), remained invisible until now, silently lurking beneath the surface with no visible volcanic trails to betray its presence. But through the subtle slowing of seismic waves — a signature trait of hot, softened rock — scientists have finally discovered the spectral trace of this deep-earth force.
Dr Simone Pilia, the lead author from Saudi Arabia's King Fahd University of Petroleum, Engineering and Geosciences, told MailOnline: "It's a reminder that surface silence doesn't mean the mantle is quiet."
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What are Ghost plumes
Ghost plumes are stealthy siblings of mantle plumes — the well-known pillars of hot rock that rise from the boundary between the Earth’s outer core and its mantle, roughly 1,800 miles (2,890 km) below the crust. While typical mantle plumes roar to the surface, spawning dramatic volcanic activity, ghost plumes remain entombed under thick rock layers, hidden from traditional geological detection.
"A ghost plume is a mantle plume that doesn't produce observable surface volcanism, making it essentially 'invisible' to traditional geological observation," Dr Pilia explained.
Oman has long puzzled geologists, showing no signs of volcanoes yet causing seismic waves to behave strangely. When Dr Pilia scrutinized this anomaly, he noticed the waves decelerated as they passed beneath the region — a clue pointing toward a buried column of intense heat. Naming the newfound plume Dani, after his son, Dr Pilia, alongside his team, pieced together the geological puzzle using simulations and seismic data. The results painted a compelling picture of a deep, cylindrical column of molten rock, stretching at least 410 miles down and measuring 125 to 185 miles (200-300 km) across.
The temperature within this ghostly structure is blistering — up to 300°C (540°F) hotter than the surrounding mantle. Yet, its fury is muffled beneath a 60-mile-thick (100 km) rock lid, effectively bottling the heat and suppressing any volcanic activity.
"Even if the plume is hot — and our data suggest it is — the pressure at those depths makes it very hard for melt to form and reach the surface. So, the plume exists, but it's essentially trapped," said Dr Pilia.
Fortunately for Oman, this subterranean inferno is "very unlikely" to trigger eruptions in the foreseeable future. But its long-term presence — estimated at over 40 million years — has left fingerprints on the shifting tectonic plates, influencing the Indian continental plate’s movement and possibly causing Oman’s landmass to rise long after tectonic compression ended.
there could be countless other ghost plumes silently simmering beneath Earth’s surface, their existence veiled by thick lithospheric barriers. If so, it suggests the Earth’s core might be shedding heat far more rapidly than previously believed — a revelation that could reshape our understanding of the planet’s internal dynamics, tectonic activity, and magnetic behavior.
"What makes the Dani plume stand out is that we had just the right data, in just the right place, to finally see it. It's a reminder that surface silence doesn't mean the mantle is quiet," Dr Pilia emphasized.
