Articles tagged with Earth Mantle
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Recent advancements in quantum mechanical computation enable precise predictions of complex minerals' stability, elasticity, and transport properties. These calculations reveal new insights into the Earth's deep interior, including post-perovskite phase boundaries and potential hydrous compounds.
Researchers used quantum mechanical computations to study the thermal conductivity of postperovskite at lower mantle conditions. The study found a significant jump in thermal conductivity associated with phase transition, which affects heat flux across the core-mantle boundary.
Researchers have developed a new computer simulation to study carbon in deep Earth reservoirs, providing insights into the Earth's carbon cycle and climate change. The simulation reveals underestimated concentrations of bicarbonate ions under extreme pressure and temperature conditions.
A team of scientists has successfully measured the viscosity of silicate melt under pressure and temperature conditions similar to those in the lower earth mantle. The data suggests that a bridgmanite-enriched rock layer was formed during the early history of the Earth, with implications for our understanding of the planet's formation.
Researchers in the Borexino collaboration have extracted a signal of geoneutrinos coming from the Earth's mantle with improved statistical significance. The results provide lower limits for uranium and thorium abundances in the Earth's mantle, indicating radioactive decay processes generate more than half of the Earth's internal heat.
A recent study published in Science Advances analyzed a shocked meteorite sample, revealing the presence of bridgmanite and metallic iron nanoparticles. Bridgmanite is considered the dominant material in the Earth's lower mantle, making up about 38 volume percent of our planet.
A new framework for integrated geodynamic models is being developed by a team of researchers, including Clemson mathematician Timo Heister. The Advanced Solver for Problems in Earth's Convection (ASPECT) software will simulate processes in the Earth's mantle, providing insights into geological events and tectonic plate movements.
A deep-Earth water cycle is possible if a key mineral called stishovite can store and transport large amounts of water under extreme conditions. This discovery indicates that water could be present far into the lower mantle, altering our understanding of planetary evolution.
Researchers discovered a new aluminium hydroxide phase that remains stable at pressures exceeding the Earth's mantle. This finding suggests water can be stored in these hydroxides within deep Earth environments, terrestrial super-Earths, and icy planet cores.
A new study using satellite data from the European Space Agency has provided unprecedented insights into the deep structure of Antarctica. The researchers used special gradient data to analyze the lithosphere, which consists of the crust and the earth's upper mantle below the frozen continent.
A new study suggests that extra-terrestrial impacts could have triggered the emergence of plate tectonics on early Earth. The research used modelling simulations and comparisons with lunar impact studies to reveal that massive impacts continued to shape the planet for hundreds of millions of years, potentially driving tectonic processes.
Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have discovered that the Nile river is approximately 30 million years old, contradicting previous estimates. The team linked the river's flow to mantle movement in the Earth's deep mantle, revealing a steady northward path that has shaped human civilization.
A team of scientists found that two-thirds of the Earth's surface moves faster than the underlying mantle, with the surface dragging the interior. The study suggests that the balance of forces changes over geological time, especially for continents.
Researchers detected uniform chemical signatures in kimberlites that resemble the building blocks of Earth formed 4.55 billion years ago. The discovery provides critical insight into the planet's formation and evolution.
A team of scientists will investigate the evolution of Earth's chemical composition and physical processes over 4.4 billion years using melt inclusions in olivine and zircon crystals. The project aims to understand the recycling of chemical elements and its impact on plate tectonics.
The Deep Carbon Observatory team estimates that only 0.02% of Earth's total carbon is above surface, while the rest is subsurface. Volcanic CO2 emissions are estimated to be 280-360 million tonnes per year, dwarfed by human-induced emissions.
Researchers at the University of Münster have discovered a new composition of the Earth's mantle, suggesting that large parts of it contain fewer incompatible elements. The study found that more material from the mantle has melted to form the Earth's crust than previously thought.
Researchers found that giant impacts can dramatically lower a planet's internal pressure after an impact, followed by a longer term increase as the body recovers. This new model could explain puzzling geochemical signatures in Earth's mantle and have major implications for planetary evolution.
Researchers have discovered primitive picrite lavas that may provide the first direct sample of a hot mantle plume underneath southern Africa during the Jurassic period. The Luenha picrites show compositional similarities to magmas formed in other deep mantle plume-related volcanic provinces worldwide.
Scientists have made a groundbreaking discovery about the deep Earth's interior, determining the phase boundary for the transportation of water. The new phase H MgSiO4H2 has been identified and its decomposition process explained, shedding light on the complex geodynamics at play.
Researchers analyzed helium isotopes in super-deep diamonds to find evidence of pristine reservoirs of primordial rock material beneath the upper mantle. The study suggests that these reservoirs occasionally infiltrate the transition zone and mix with subducting material, creating diverse isotopic compositions.
Researchers found that a global cycle of matter underpins modern plate tectonics, with excess water in the transition zone of the mantle originating from an ancient ocean on Earth's surface. Komatiitic magma samples revealed significant quantities of water and chlorine in minerals, indicating a 'pumping' of water into the planet's inte...
Seismic and electrical conductivity observations suggest water is present in the Earth's mantle, affecting dynamics and causing earthquakes. Hydrogen and water play key roles in lower internal friction, magma generation, and mantle convection.
The Earth's F/Cl ratio is super-chondritic, indicating enrichment of fluorine in the silicate Earth. Chlorine may have become concentrated on planetary surfaces through escape of the hydrosphere during Earth formation.
A research team from the University of Cologne has recalculated the distribution of volatile elements on Earth, finding that some building blocks have a chemical composition similar to primitive meteorites. The study suggests an alternative source for vital components such as water and carbon.
Researchers discover varied chemical composition in mantle materials, contrasting with mid-ocean ridge lava. The team's findings suggest that the mantle is not well-mixed and that different rocks melt at different temperatures.
A new analysis of oceanic crust cores has found distinct sections of rock with different chemical make-ups in the mantle. This variability could be linked to recycled oceanic crust and its interaction with the surrounding mantle.
Geoscientists have found evidence that material from the transition zone in Earth's mantle can percolate to the surface to form volcanoes. This discovery provides a new understanding of the relationship between the transition zone and volcanism, with implications for global geodynamics and the evolution of our planet.
The Chang'E 4 mission has collected new evidence from the largest crater in the solar system, shedding light on the moon's composition and evolution. The findings suggest that the lunar mantle may consist of equal parts olivine and pyroxene, contradicting previous theories.
A new study reveals that microbes play a crucial role in sequestering carbon from subduction zones, influencing climate change. The research found that about 94% of subducted carbon is deposited as calcium carbonate and microbial biomass in the forearc subsurface.
Researchers used diamond inclusions to study the formation of mantle keels, which stabilize continental crust. The study found that thickening and stabilization occurred when mantle sections were squeezed by ocean floor material, resolving a long-standing debate.
Research suggests that eclogitic diamonds originate from oceanic crust, not marine sediments, providing new insights into diamond formation and the deep carbon cycle. The study found that the oceanic crust contains a large reservoir of carbon, which is then recycled into diamonds in Earth's mantle.
Researchers developed a new method to investigate tectonic C cycling in the complex Sunda margin, finding that only a fraction of sedimentary carbon returns to the Earth, contributing to atmospheric CO2. This discovery has significant implications for understanding the solid Earth's role in regulating global climate.
A new study reveals that the Earth's lower mantle is more dynamic than previously thought, with increased flow in regions where ancient ocean floors plunge into the planet's core. This discovery has significant implications for understanding how quickly Earth is cooling and the dynamic evolution of our planet.
A University of Houston geologist is reconstructing the Panthalassa-Pacific plates to improve geological models for climate change and other phenomena. Preliminary research suggests current models may not accurately describe this region, where plates have been converging through subduction.
Researchers found rough topography on the 660-km boundary, rivaling the Rocky Mountains and Appalachians, using data from a massive Bolivian earthquake. This discovery has significant implications for understanding the Earth's formation and function.
New data reveals a distinct Zealandia-Antarctic mantle domain, formed by deep mantle upwelling and volcanism after Gondwana breakup. The Australian-Antarctic Ridge has isotopic compositions unique to this newly defined domain.
Scientists used high-pressure techniques to measure sound velocities of a key mineral in the Earth's mantle, shedding light on its composition and role in the lower mantle. The findings suggest that subducted oceanic crust plays a crucial role in explaining the magnitude of seismic velocity reductions at depths below 660 km.
A team of researchers used floating robotic seismometers to image the interior of the planet and discovered a mantle plume under Galapagos, suggesting an alternative explanation for the Earth's constant temperature over 4.5 billion years. The findings hint at the importance of mantle plumes in regulating the Earth's heat budget.
Researchers at Rice University found that arclogites, leftover dross from volcanic activity, are responsible for the missing niobium in continental crust. This discovery provides crucial information about how continents form and grow, shedding light on Earth's history and making it more livable.
A study at Oregon State University found that 'silent slip' - a brief episode of shallow mantle creep and seismic swarms - occurs before large earthquakes. The research deployed seismometers on the ocean bottom to detect over 1,600 earthquakes at the Blanco Ridge fault.
Researchers are exploring answers to fill crucial gaps in understanding intra-slab earthquakes, which can be large magnitude and felt over a broad area. They found that local geology can dramatically change the earthquake's effects, highlighting the need for hazard assessments to include information about the deep earth.
Researchers have synthesized and described metastable phases of high-pressure silica, coesite-IV and coesite-V, with crystal structures drastically different from earlier models. These new materials exist at extreme pressures and challenge Pauling's rules on bonding in inorganic materials.
A new high-pressure mineral, Maohokite, has been discovered and found to contain Fe3+, replacing the previously believed Fe2+, in the Earth's lower mantle. This discovery was made by researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and published in Meteoritics & Planetary Science.
Researchers used neon isotopes to study Earth's mantle formation, finding evidence of rapid early planet formation and delivery of vital compounds. The findings support the idea that a planet must reach a certain size before absorbing these ingredients, which is consistent with observations of other solar systems.
Researchers propose that changes in Earth's spin axis, known as true polar wander, triggered the latest ice age about 12 million years ago. By analyzing fossil signatures and magnetic data from ocean sediments, they found evidence of a 3-degree shift in the planet's rotation axis, which may have led to the formation of thick ice sheets.
A team of Arizona State University geoscientists has found a new source of water on Earth, tracing it back to the formation of our planet. They discovered that the solar nebula, the gases and dust out of which the Sun and planets formed, contained hydrogen and oxygen, which could have supplied the origin of Earth's global ocean.
Scientists have used satellite gravity data from the GOCE mission to image the structure of the Earth's lithosphere, revealing large-scale tectonic features and complex patterns in ancient cratons. These findings improve our understanding of Antarctica's deep structure and its connection to the rest of the planet.
A newly discovered mineral zircon in Galapagos basalts raises questions about the Earth's crust-mantle system. Geoscientists from Mainz University and partners will collaborate to investigate hypotheses and explore a geological enigma, with implications for understanding island formation.
A new study published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters proposes that plate tectonics could have started as early as the planet's formation. Researchers analyzed noble gas isotopes Helium-3 and Neon-22 to establish a timeline of Earth's tectonic plate cycling, providing insight into the planet's earliest conditions.
A new study by Washington University in St. Louis reveals that the Earth shifted its volatile transport regime around 2.5 billion years ago, with a significant increase in regassing potentially enabled by subduction. This change had a profound impact on the internal churning of the mantle and plate motions at the surface.
Researchers discovered that blue diamonds form at least as deep as the transition zone between the upper and lower mantle. The boron element was incorporated into water-rich minerals like serpentine during geochemical reactions between seawater and oceanic plate rocks, traveling far deeper into the mantle than previously thought.
A new model provides the clearest picture yet of the geology below the Tibetan Plateau, revealing tears in the Indian upper mantle layer. The research suggests that these tears are responsible for earthquakes in the region, shedding light on the complex geological processes at play.
The study identifies at least three tears in the Indian mantle lithosphere underthrusting the Himalayas. This model explains patterns of crustal deformation and east-west extension in southern Tibet, providing insights into the region's seismic activity.
A new study by a Virginia Tech geoscientist reveals that the Yellowstone super-volcano was powered by a gigantic ancient oceanic plate, not heat from the Earth's core. This ancient plate broke into pieces, resulting in explosive volcanic eruptions over the past 16 million years.
A new study has revealed that the bedrock below West Antarctica's ice sheet is rising at an unprecedented rate, suggesting a much more fluid Earth mantle than previously believed. This discovery could impact our understanding of climate changes in Antarctica and have significant implications for global sea levels.
Researchers at UChicago developed a new model of water behavior under extreme temperatures and pressures using quantum simulations. The model provides insight into the properties of water deep inside the Earth's mantle and has implications for understanding life on exoplanets.
Scientists have discovered that up to 25% of new ocean floor is formed by mantle material without magmatic processes, challenging current understanding. This phenomenon occurs at paces of less than two centimeters per year, particularly in regions like the Cayman Trough.
Researchers used supercomputer simulations to study the behavior of mantle plumes, a key factor in volcanic formation. The study provided new insights into how plumes interact with seismic waves and could help guide future experiments on the ocean floor.
Scientists used lab-cooked recipes to model mantle minerals, providing clear measurements of density, compressibility and electronic conductivity. This study will help scientists interpret seismic waves and accurately map the amount of iron in the mantle.