This Diagram of Earth Is a Lie

The video challenges the traditional view of Earth's mantle as a smooth layer, revealing it as uneven with continent-sized blobs. These blobs, discovered using seismic tomography, are crucial to understanding Earth's surface activities. Seismometers, typically used for earthquakes, help map these irregularities by analyzing seismic wave speeds, which vary with rock temperature and density. The blobs, possibly made of iron peroxide, may have formed from mantle rock reacting with seawater. They are linked to volcanic centers, like Hawaii, and could influence Earth's magnetic field over millions of years.

What tool do scientists use to study the Earth's interior and what does it measure?

• Thermometers, which measure temperature

• Seismometers, which measure ground motion

• Barometers, which measure air pressure

• Anemometers, which measure wind speed

What is the main method used to understand the Earth's internal structure?

• Ultrasound scanning

• X-ray diffraction

• Magnetic resonance imaging

• Seismic tomography

What are the large blobs in the Earth's mantle thought to be composed of?

• Silicon dioxide

• Magnesium sulfate

• Calcium carbonate

• Iron peroxide

Which volcanic hotspot is located above one of the mantle blobs?

• Hawaii

• Mount Vesuvius

• Mount Fuji

• Yellowstone

How might the mantle blobs affect the Earth's magnetic field?

• By stabilizing the magnetic field

• By increasing magnetic field strength

• By decreasing magnetic field strength

• By causing magnetic field reversals