AI identifies six massive structures at Earth's core-mantle boundary

A team of Chinese scientists has identified six previously unknown large-scale structures located approximately 2,900 kilometers beneath the Earth's surface at the boundary between the mantle and the metallic core.

Using deep learning systems to analyze over two million seismic records collected globally between 1990 and 2024, researchers identified approximately 174,929 PKP precursor signals. This represents a tenfold increase in data processed compared to previous global studies. These signals, which arrive seconds before stronger seismic waves, allow scientists to detect subtle variations in temperature and chemical composition.

The discovery reveals six continuous belts of irregularities spanning the North Atlantic, Northern Eurasia, South Atlantic, Southern Africa, the Pacific Ocean, and Antarctica. These structures may consist of ancient subducted tectonic plates, chemical separations, or material with differing densities and temperatures. Understanding these formations is critical for studying heat transfer, mantle circulation, and the processes that drive volcanic activity and earthquakes.