Navigate Select ESC Close

Strange Gravity Anomaly Discovered Near Africa May Be The First of Its Kind

2025-10-03 Science & Technology
406.7k
17.8k
1.5k
Anton Petrov
Anton Petrov
1.6m subscribers

Rapid Deep Earth Gravity Anomaly Points to Mineral Phase Change

Understand how twin satellites measured a massive, decade-old gravity signal originating from 3,000 km deep. Learn why this rapid deep-Earth event challenges previous assumptions about mantle stability and links to the magnetic field.

Short Summary

  • [00:05:59] Scientists analyzed an unexpected, large-scale gravity signal from 2006-2008 that standard surface models could not explain.
  • [00:07:10] The source points to a rapid mineral phase transition, likely of bridgmanite, near the core-mantle boundary (D layer).
  • [00:09:16] This deep mass redistribution appears temporally linked to a sudden shift in the Earth’s magnetic field (geomagnetic jerk).
  • [00:12:31] Comparing Earth data to the Moon's static anomalies (Mascons) highlights Earth’s highly dynamic interior processes.

This discussion details the discovery of a massive gravitational event missed for years. We explore the technology used to measure these subtle shifts and explain how scientists traced the signal back to extreme density changes within the solid mantle, offering a rare glimpse into rapid deep-Earth dynamics.

Unlock all features

FREE: Get instant access to 10 AI summaries, chats, or transcripts per day.

Description

Support this channel on Patreon to help me make this a full time job: https://www.patreon.com/whatdamath (Unreleased videos, extra footage, DMs, no ads) Alternatively, PayPal donations can be sent here: http://paypal.me/whatdamath Get a Wonderful Person Tee: https://teespring.com/stores/whatdamath More cool designs are on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3QFIrFX Hello and welcome! My name is Anton and in this video, we will talk about a strange gravity anomaly discovered near Africa Links: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2025GL116408 Other videos: https://youtu.be/_e_c0QcL6vE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-7RvQU2s7Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0IRYjPNzxs #gravity #earth #anomaly 0:00 Gravitational anomaly found near Africa 0:40 How GRACE Satellites found this 3:10 Positive and negative anomalies 4:00 Why these are important for science 5:55 Strange anomaly found recently 7:20 Possible explanation 8:50 Connection to LLSVPs and magnetic anomalies 10:20 Similar observations on the Moon 12:02 Different on the Moon 13:20 Conclusions and implications Enjoy and please subscribe Bitcoin/Ethereum to spare? Donate them here to help this channel grow! bc1qnkl3nk0zt7w0xzrgur9pnkcduj7a3xxllcn7d4 or ETH: 0x60f088B10b03115405d313f964BeA93eF0Bd3DbF Thank you to all Patreon supporters of this channel Special thanks also goes to all the wonderful supporters of the channel through YouTube Memberships Credit: Sanne.cottaar CC BY SA 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large_low-shear-velocity_provinces#/media/File:LLSVP.gif K. Hirose https://crystallography365.wordpress.com/2014/04/24/what-is-our-planet-made-out-of-7-silicate-post-perovskite/ Licenses used: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ and relevant Creative Commons licenses

Top Comments (10)

@Bubumunsta 2025-10-04

If there is a national award for science communication I would vote for you to receive it!

681 37 replies
@00CooG00 2025-10-03

Don’t tell me it’s not aliens anton. Just for once just, let’s pretend it’s aliens. Let me have this one bro. P.s you are a wonderful person to. edit: I’d just like to add that these measurements are also used to build a geoid model of earth and is essential for measuring height above the ocean with gps. Like anton says these forces aren’t big, but they will affect the ocean level. This gravity difference actually leads to a delta of 200 meters between the geoid highest point and its lowest!!

630 69 replies
@NanickaS 2025-10-03

No Anton, you are a wonderful person. Really.

336 13 replies
@aurex8937 2025-10-03

I'm NOT a wonderful person. I just hid behind my house for 5 minutes to avoid greeting the neighbor.

316 65 replies
@spiralsun1 2025-10-03

I didn’t even understand the gravity of the situation. Thank you 🙏🏻 ❤

316 43 replies
@tonie1992 2025-10-04

I'm 64 and still learning new things about the world. Thank you for what you do.

159 6 replies
@bremnersghost948 2025-10-04

Funny coincidence there are Rivers named Katanga that flow into both the Tunguska Magnetic Anomaly in Siberia and also flow into the Bangui Anomaly in Africa.

73 4 replies
@TimmacTR 2025-10-07

Thanks for providing us daily existential crises.

24 1 replies
@MultiWooley 2025-10-04

You are a wonderful person, truly

10
@ParadoxAntz 2025-10-15

What da math :D Been here 8 years now

1

Unlock the Data Inside
Turn Videos into Knowledge

  • Get FREE 10/day: transcripts, summaries, chats
  • Chat with videos, export text & PDF
  • $1 free API credit for RAG, chatbots & research

Free forever plan • All features unlocked

App screenshot