Produced by: Manoj Kumar
Beneath the Indian Ocean lies a mysterious gravity anomaly, where Earth’s surface dips over 100 meters lower than surrounding areas, puzzling scientists for decades.
New research suggests the IOGL is caused by hot, low-density mantle material rising from deep inside Earth — a hidden force shaping ocean basins.
Far from a perfect sphere, Earth’s gravity field is like a “lumpy potato,” and the IOGL marks the deepest gravitational dent ever found on our planet.
Simulations show that 140 million years of mantle convection and tectonic drift caused the gravity hole — linked to the disappearance of an ancient ocean.
Scientists trace the anomaly to the African superplume, a massive upwelling of hot mantle rock that stretches beneath the Indian Ocean’s floor, shaping gravity itself.
As India’s landmass drifted north, it closed an ancient ocean — the sunken remnants of which may have triggered the mantle plumes behind the IOGL.
Will this gravity hole vanish? Future tectonic shifts may erase it in millions of years — or it might linger as a geological relic, depending on Earth’s deep dynamics.
By mapping the IOGL, scientists are reading Earth’s hidden history, revealing how mantle forces and lost oceans still shape the planet’s surface today.
Though this study offers the clearest model yet, some experts argue key forces like Réunion Island’s massive plume and other volcanic systems remain unaccounted for.