Related topics: tectonic plates · earth

Transportation of water into the deep Earth by Al-phase D

Researchers at Ehime University have recently measured the propagation speed of ultrasonic waves in an aluminum-rich hydrous mineral called Al-phase D at pressure conditions relevant to the Earth's deep mantle. Their results ...

Researchers discover 'missing' piece of Hawaii's formation

An oceanic plateau has been observed for the first time in the Earth's lower mantle, 800 kilometers deep underneath Eastern Siberia, pushing Hawaii's birthplace back to 100 million years, says a Michigan State University ...

Former piece of Pacific Ocean floor imaged deep beneath China

In a study that gives new meaning to the term "rock bottom," seismic researchers have discovered the underside of a rocky slab of Earth's surface layer, or lithosphere, that has been pulled more than 400 miles beneath northeastern ...

Distinct slab interfaces found within mantle transition zone

The oceanic lithosphere descends into Earth's mantle as subducting slabs. Boundaries between the subducting slab and the surrounding mantle are defined as slab interfaces, whose seismic imaging is the key to understanding ...

A new way of looking at the Earth's interior

Current understanding is that the chemical composition of the Earth's mantle is relatively homogeneous. But experiments conducted by ETH researchers now show that this view is too simplistic. Their results solve a key problem ...

Geologists 'resurrect' missing tectonic plate

The existence of a tectonic plate called Resurrection has long been a topic of debate among geologists, with some arguing it was never real. Others say it subducted—moved sideways and downward—into the earth's mantle ...

Understanding the 'deep-carbon cycle'

New geologic findings about the makeup of the Earth's mantle are helping scientists better understand long-term climate stability and even how seismic waves move through the planet's layers.

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