Gravity disappears at this ocean spot

It's like a giant hole in gravity's pull, and scientists aren't sure what's causing it

By Smartasaurus· 2 min read Curious

There is a hole in the Indian Ocean

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The short version

It's like a giant hole in gravity's pull, and scientists aren't sure what's causing it
As those ancient tectonic plates sank toward the core, they pushed hot, low-density plumes of magma upward.
If a missing ocean can warp the shape of the sea today, one wonders what other structures are currently sinking toward the core to rewrite the grav…

Ships crossing the Indian Ocean south of Sri Lanka are technically sailing through a hole in the planet’s gravitational field.

While we are taught that gravity is a constant, it actually ripples and sags across the globe like a poorly made mattress. In this specific patch of water covering three million square kilometers, the pull of the Earth weakens so significantly that the ocean surface itself has slumped.

If you were to ignore the waves and wind, the sea level here is 106 meters lower than the global average. The ocean literally dips into a massive, invisible bowl.

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