Who stole part of the earth’s crust, give it back

Only joking PB.

A team of British scientists has set sail on a voyage to examine why a huge chunk of the earth’s crust is missing, deep under the Atlantic Ocean — a phenomenon that challenges conventional ideas about how the earth works.

Experts describe the hole along the mid-Atlantic ridge as an “open wound” on the ocean floor that has puzzled scientists for the five or so years that its existence has been known because it defies existing tectonic plate theories of evolution.

The primary motivation for the project was to understand how the earth continues to evolve.

“The area that we are looking at is part of a mountain range that spans thousands of square kilometres, but we are beginning to realise that there are probably millions of square kilometres where the ocean floor is missing,” Murton said.

Asked if the discovery posed a threat to the environment, Murton replied: “It’s not problematic for the earth because it is a natural earth process — but in terms of knowing how the earth works and how the world is put together it is important.”

Murton also said the expedition would shed light on the composition of sea water amongst other initiatives.

Crust formation is a fundamental mechanism of the earth which affects the chemistry of the world’s oceans.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/05032007/325/missing-huge-chunk-earth-s-crust.html

Fascinating stuff. One wonders what our planet looks like underneath the waves. The constant earth crust spewing the changing shape and releasing hot air creating global warming.