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Scientists studying the Bermuda Triangle have stumbled upon something no one expected. Deep below the infamous stretch of the Atlantic Ocean, they have found a massive rock layer that does not match anything seen elsewhere on Earth. The discovery, made using earthquake data, could change how scientists understand the region’s strange geology and even how some volcanic islands form.
What scientists found under the Bermuda Triangle
Researchers from Carnegie Science and Yale University used seismic waves from earthquakes to look beneath Bermuda. What they found stunned them: a 12.4-mile-thick (20-kilometre) layer of low-density rock sitting beneath the oceanic crust. Live Science reported that this layer lies in an unusual position, tucked inside the tectonic plate itself.
The findings were published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. Scientists believe this hidden rock could be a leftover from ancient volcanic activity linked to the breakup of the supercontinent Pangea millions of years ago.
Why Bermuda Triangle rock is unusual
Normally, scientists expect to see the oceanic crust directly sitting on the Earth’s mantle. But Bermuda breaks that rule.
“Typically, you have the bottom of the oceanic crust, and then it would be expected to be the mantle,” study lead author William Frazer, a seismologist at Carnegie Science in Washington D.C. told Live Science. “But in Bermuda, there is this other layer that is emplaced beneath the crust, within the tectonic plate that Bermuda sits on.”
This unexpected structure makes Bermuda stand out as a geological oddball in the Atlantic Ocean.
A clue to Bermuda’s raised seafloor
The discovery may also explain another long-standing mystery. The seafloor around Bermuda sits about 1,640 feet (500 meters) higher than nearby regions, even though there has been no recent volcanic activity.Scientists think the hidden rock layer may still be supporting the island from below, keeping it elevated long after the volcanoes went quiet. This challenges the traditional idea that volcanic islands stop changing once eruptions end.
“There is still this material that is left over from the days of active volcanism under Bermuda that is helping to potentially hold it up as this area of high relief in the Atlantic Ocean,” Sarah Mazza, a geologist at Smith College in Massachusetts, told Live Science. She was not involved in the work.
What this means for Earth science
Bermuda’s strange underground structure raises a bigger question: is this kind of hidden rock layer truly rare, or have scientists simply not been looking closely enough elsewhere?
To find out, researchers now plan to search for similar features beneath other islands. If they find more examples, textbooks on Earth’s interior may need a serious update.
For a place famous for mystery, the Bermuda Triangle may have just revealed its strangest secret yet, buried deep beneath the ocean floor.
