Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this story:Usually, geologic layers build on one another, with younger rocks piling on top of older ones. A new study, however, shows that this process is inverted in large, several-kilometer-wide mounds known as “sinkites” found throughout the North Sea. However, in the North Sea, huge mounds—some of which are several kilometers wide—known as “sinkites” reverse this process. In studying these formations, scientists found Late Miocene and Early Pliocene deposits beneath ooze rafts that formed millions of years earlier, in the Early Miocene. Understanding the foundation of the engine—both its historical significance and its geologic oddities—will be vital in the coming years.