Articles tagged with Earth Mantle
Researchers at the University of Southampton have discovered a direct link between fault activity and water entering the Earth's mantle. The study found that the amount of serpentinite formed at the bottom of each fault is directly proportional to the displacement on that fault.
Researchers used high-pressure experiments to create two new iron oxides, which decompose at extreme conditions and release significant amounts of oxygen-rich fluid. The discovery suggests a huge oxygen source in the Earth's lower mantle that can affect geochemical processes.
A new study using an advanced computer model casts doubt on the previously held theories about Yellowstone's origins, adding to the mystery of its formation. The simulation results showed that a mantle plume was blocked from traveling upward toward the surface by ancient tectonic plates.
Three diamonds found in Johannesburg show that plate tectonics was in operation on Earth as early as 3.5 billion years ago, revealing key findings about the ancient planet's history.
Researchers have discovered 'forbidden' compounds in super-Earths that could increase heat transfer rates and strengthen magnetic fields. These compounds, formed by silicon, oxygen, and magnesium at high pressures, have different properties than normal compounds, making them important for generating powerful magnetic fields.
The Chang'e-3 mission provided 'ground truth' for lunar volcanism, with basalts found to be unlike those returned by Apollo and Luna missions. The findings suggest the Moon's upper mantle is composed of diverse minerals, providing clues to its formation and evolution.
Researchers have found regional temperature variations of up to three times greater than expected in the lower mantle where it meets the core. The discovery will help explain the structure of the Earth and its formation.
Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz found that the appearance of blueschist, a blue-violet rock, is connected to long-term changes in the composition of the oceanic crust. This discovery challenges theories on the emergence of plate tectonics, which previously dated back to the Neoproterozoic era or even earlier.
Researchers from Syracuse University found that atmospheric argon and neon are trapped in minerals formed at ultra-high pressure depths within the Earth's mantle. These findings indicate that noble gases can be recycled from the atmosphere into the deep Earth, and back to the surface again through a process known as forearc recycling.
Researchers at Arizona State University propose a model of mantle dynamics involving plumes that transport chemically distinct material to the surface, explaining variability in ocean island basalts. This study provides insights into Earth's interior composition and evolution, as well as potential links to habitable planet formation.
Analysis of Baffin Island lava flows provides new insights into Earth's water origins, suggesting water-soaked dust grains present early in the solar system may be the source. The study found lower deuterium levels than previous studies, providing a potential baseline for Earth's original water signature.
A team of international researchers suggests that a large and hot mantle plume was necessary to break the early Earth's lithosphere, leading to the first subduction and Plate Tectonics. The conditions required for this process included a thick and heavy lithosphere, liquid water in the oceans, and a large enough plume to produce signif...
A new model of Earth's core formation suggests the magma ocean started out oxidized and became reduced over time through oxygen incorporation into the core. Higher oxygen concentrations were found in the core, contradicting previous estimates.
Researchers have identified a 2,000-kilometer-long chain of volcanoes running from the Whitsundays to near Melbourne. The volcanic chain was created over the past 33 million years as Australia moved northwards over a hotspot in the Earth's mantle.
Researchers used data from the Earth's gravity field, topography, seismology, and crustal structure to create a 3D model of the North American craton. The study found that the lower part of the craton's root has shifted by approximately 850 kilometers towards the west-southwest due to mantle flow.
A new CT scan of Earth's interior connects deep mantle plumes to surface volcanoes like Hawaii, showing plumes are five times wider than previously thought. The scan reveals the connections between lower-mantle plumes and volcanic hotspots, including anchors at the core-mantle boundary.
Researchers found fossilized microbes in ancient rock samples from the Iberian continental margin, confirming a long-standing hypothesis that interactions between mantle rocks and seawater can create conditions for life. The discovery provides important insights into the possibility of 'intraterrestrial' life in rocks below the seafloor.
A team of researchers found a massive slab of water ice on Mars, measuring 40 meters thick and covering an area equivalent to California and Texas combined. Meanwhile, scientists have long struggled to study the Earth's remote mantle using seismic wave analysis, but new research offers new insights into this complex process.
A team of German scientists challenges the theory that a large mantle plume played a dominant role in the break-up of the super-continent Gondwana. Seismic measurements reveal that the impact of the mantle plume on the continental crust is surprisingly small.
Researchers from GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel found that the Tristan-Gough hotspot changed composition about 70 million years ago, forming parallel but geochemically distinct volcanoes. The team suggests a huge lens of material in the lower mantle, called LLSVP, as a possible explanation.
Researchers estimate that subduction returns almost no carbon to the mantle, with 'exchange between reservoirs in balance.' New analysis sheds light on Earth's climate over geologic time scales and implications for life.
Scientists have long suspected sulphur in the Earth's core but now have conclusive geochemical evidence confirming its presence and estimating its vast quantity. The discovery lends weight to the theory that the Moon was formed by a planet-sized body colliding with the Earth.
MIT researchers explain India's rapid move toward Eurasia 80 million years ago by the combination of two subduction zones. The team found relics of what may have been two subduction zones in rocks from the Himalayan region, which led them to develop a model for a double subduction system.
Researchers found samples of seamounts that did not erupt from hot spots but formed from cracks in the oceanic crust. This discovery confirms their origins and helps explain the unique bend in the Hawaiian-Emperor chain.
A team of researchers from GFZ explains possible barriers for the ascent of mantle plumes and resolves major conflicts surrounding present model predictions. They found that low-buoyancy thermochemical plumes can develop, preventing massive volcanism and environmental catastrophes.
Researchers found that iron vaporization at high pressures can create an iron-rich rain that blankets the forming Earth, explaining the iron pockets in the mantle. This process challenges traditional core formation theories and changes our interpretation of geochemical data.
Seismic investigations reveal extreme mantle perturbation and crust-mantle interaction in Eastern China's Qinling-Dabie-Sulu orogenic belt. The region was affected by compressional deformation due to collision between North and South China blocks.
Researchers analyzed mid-ocean ridge basalts to understand the uranium isotope cycle, revealing a 'fingerprint' of the element in oceanic crust. The study suggests that uranium has been transported from the surface to the deep mantle through subduction, providing insights into Earth's evolution over billions of years.
Researchers at Ohio State University propose that the Earth's mantle contains entire oceans of water, which are continuously cycled to the surface via plate tectonics. This process could have supplied water to the oceans for billions of years, making Earth habitable.
A Johns Hopkins University-led team has discovered a rich variety of organic carbon species in deep fluids, suggesting they could spark the formation of diamonds and potentially become food for microbial life. These findings, published in Nature Geoscience, provide new insights into the Earth's mantle and its role in the origin of life.
Research from UC Davis and Aarhus University reveals high mantle temperatures are essential for producing large amounts of magma at Bárðarbunga volcano in Iceland. This finding supports the critical role of mantle plumes in forming large igneous provinces.
The Earth's massive tectonic plates are driven by a self-sustaining process that has shaped the modern planet. Early continents triggered plate motion by placing major stress on surrounding plates, forcing them to be pushed under at their edges.
Researchers confirm that textbook theory behind volcanoes is incorrect, with no evidence for narrow mantle plumes. Instead, large, slow-moving chunks of mantle drive volcano formation through plate tectonics.
Mantle plumes may be responsible for breaking up continents, according to a new study. The researchers used high-resolution computer simulations to demonstrate how the interaction between a plume and a plate under tensile stress can lead to continental breakup, forming rift systems and creating volcanoes.
Scientists have discovered two separate phases of ferromagnesian silicate in the lower mantle, one containing nearly no iron and the other rich in iron. This finding has significant implications for seismology and the study of earthquakes, highlighting the need to reconsider existing models.
Debris avalanche landslides can drastically modify the shape and nature of surrounding landscapes, changing water drainage systems. Researchers studied the Pungarehu debris avalanche deposit at Taranaki volcano, New Zealand, to gain insights into transport and emplacement mechanisms.
Researchers discover water bound in rock deep in the Earth's mantle, potentially representing the planet's largest water reservoir. This finding may aid scientists in understanding how the Earth formed and what its current composition is.
Researchers from Harvard University believe they've found signs of an ancient Earth within the Earth's mantle, challenging the theory of the Moon's formation. They analyzed noble gas isotopes and found significant differences between shallow and deep mantle regions.
Researchers have uncovered evidence of ancient protocontinental crust in four-billion-year-old rocks from the Acasta Gneiss Complex. The study suggests that processes similar to those occurring in present-day Iceland may have formed the Earth's first continents.
Scientists have discovered a significant difference in lower mantle chemistry, shifting from a single ferromagnesian silicate mineral to two distinct phases, including an iron-rich and hexagonal structure called H-phase. This finding challenges geodynamic models and may lead to new discoveries about the deep Earth.
Researchers recreate extreme conditions to study melting point of basalt at high depths. They found that the melting point is lower than previously thought, indicating a speedy dissolution back into the Earth's depths. This explains seismic anomalies and provides new insight into the temperature of deep Earth.
Researchers have discovered that the upward motion of Antarctica's crust is occurring at a rate of 15mm per year, much faster than previously thought. The land is rising due to the melting of glaciers and the subsequent reduction in weight on the Earth's crust.
Scientists have found that temperature variations deep within the Earth's mantle influence mid-ocean ridge elevation and volcanic hotspots, resolving a long-standing controversy. The study analyzed seismic wave data and rock chemistry to determine that higher mantle temperatures are associated with thicker crust and volcanic activity.
Researchers have developed new simulations that depict the dynamics of deep Earth, revealing a complex composition of the lowermost part of the mantle. The study suggests that mantle plumes can carry a combination of different materials from several reservoirs, explaining observations of hotspot lavas' chemical complexity.
A new study published in Science has shed light on the structure of the Pacific Plate, revealing a compositional boundary that forms as rocks cool and change composition with depth. The research uses seismic tomography to image the interior of the plate and helps understand how it formed and evolved.
Deep-sea fault zones in subduction zones can transport large amounts of water from the Earth's oceans to the upper mantle. Researchers estimate that these zones could carry up to three and a half times the total amount of ocean water to the mantle.
Researchers challenge conventional wisdom that super-Earths are waterworlds, proposing they can have exposed continents and an Earth-like climate. The model suggests most tectonically active super-Earths store water in the mantle, enabling a stable climate.
Lekic's work has improved the understanding of Earth's large-scale inner structure, revealing key features such as a low-velocity layer internal to continental plates. His research also explores neutrino geoscience and seismic attenuation, providing new insights into plate tectonics and continental evolution
Researchers study fossil estuaries, a 'natural wind tunnel' experiment on the Chinese Loess Plateau, frictional melting of rocks in water, glacial moraines in Colorado, and topographic data from Venus. These studies explore ecosystem stability, aeolian sediments, fault frictional properties, and volcanic lightning.
A team of researchers suggests that molecular hydrogen, in addition to carbon dioxide and water, could have created a greenhouse effect on Mars 3.8 billion years ago, raising temperatures high enough for liquid water to flow.
Using X-ray analysis, scientists have studied molten basalt at extreme pressure conditions, revealing a stiffer and denser form of the magma. The findings support the concept of two magma oceans in the early Earth's mantle, separated by a crystalline layer.
Researchers are utilizing post-glacial rebound to determine the stability of the Antarctic ice sheet. By studying seismic waves generated by distant earthquakes, scientists can measure the rate at which the ice sheet is losing mass and estimate its future behavior in a warming world.
Scientists found that continent nuclei formed as a byproduct of mountain-building processes, stacking up slabs of cold oceanic crust to create thick 'keels' in the mantle. This process supported the overlying crust and enabled continents to form.
Scientists have made significant findings on continental subduction, revealing the processes that occur within subduction channels and their impact on collision orogeny. These studies focus on the interaction between the deeply subducted crust and the overlying mantle wedge under ultrahigh pressure conditions.
Scientists have detected previously unknown channels of slow-moving seismic waves in Earth's upper mantle, helping explain the formation of hotspot volcanoes like Hawaii and Tahiti. The discovery provides an important piece of the puzzle in understanding these volcanoes' complex interactions with plumes and the shallow upper mantle.
Researchers have successfully simulated pressure conditions in the deep lower mantle, measuring thermal conductivity and finding heat transfer to be lower than expected. The study estimates a total heat flow of 10.4 terawatts across the Earth, about 60% of human civilization's power usage.
Researchers at MIT have identified a hidden reservoir of lead-laden rocks in the Earth's mantle, which would make the planet's composition more similar to meteorites. This discovery could help explain the Earth's origins and provide insights into its evolution through history.
Research at University of Liverpool found variations in Earth's core affect day length over periods of one to 10 years. The study resolves previously poorly characterised changes and provides new insight into the chemistry and mineralogy of the Earth's deep interior.
Scientists have discovered that large-scale upwelling in the Earth's mantle is mostly concentrated beneath Africa and the Central Pacific, with these locations remaining remarkably stable over geological time. This discovery provides a framework for understanding how mantle dynamics are linked to surface geology.
Researchers from Syracuse University argue that the Earth's mantle plays a significant role in shaping the coastline and estimating long-term sea-level rise. The team's findings suggest that the shoreline has been uplifted by over 210 feet, indicating less ice melting than expected.