An international team of researchers, including the University of Leeds, has discovered a previously unknown form
The discovery suggests that the eruptions of the ocean floor,originating from the Earth's mantle, were hotter and more voluminous than previously thought. The report was co-authored by Ivan Savov, Ph.D. of the Leeds Institute of Geophysics and Tectonics at the University's School of Earth and Environment.
"In an era when we, of course, rightlyWe admire the discoveries in the process of space exploration; our work shows that many discoveries still remain to be made on Earth,” emphasizes Savov. — The extracted rocks differ significantly from rocks of this type that are already known. In fact, they differ from the known basalts of the ocean floor, just as terrestrial basalts differ from lunar basalts.”
Now that scientists know where and how this type of rock forms, geologists plan to re-examine the basalt that was formed by eruptions from the ocean floor.
The newly discovered basalt differs fromknown rocks both for their chemical and mineral composition. Previously, its existence was not known. It is buried deep under sediment at the bottom of the ocean.
Microscopic section of a new type of basalt. Credit: EXP 351 Science Group.
To find a new breed, researchThe team aboard the research vessel JOIDES Resolution sank its drilling equipment 6 km to the ocean floor in the Amami Sankaku Basin—approximately 1,000 km southwest of Mount Fuji in Japan. .
They then drilled another 1.5 km into the ocean floor, extracting samples that scientists had never examined before.
The area of research was part of the "Fieryrings"—a horseshoe-shaped belt known for regular volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. It extends approximately 40,000 km around the Pacific Ocean and is believed to have begun to form at least 50 million years ago.
Basalt is an igneous volcanic rock of basic composition of the normal alkalinity series from the basalt family. It is one of the most common types of rocks on Earth.
The eruptions, as a result of which was formedrecently discovered basalt, were widespread (covering areas the size of Western Europe) and occurred in a relatively short geological time - 1-2 million years.
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