The layer, located 100 miles below the Earth's surface, could help shed light on how the tectonic plates move.
Earth’s surface, and while scientists have found patches of melt at this depth previously, new research publishedled by Junlin Huacalled the asthenosphere—probably has little to no bearing on how Earth’s tectonic plates move over the mantle.
“When we think about something melting, we intuitively think that the melt must play a big role in the material’s viscosity,” said lead author. “But what we found is that even where the melt fraction is quite high, its effect on mantle flow is very minor.”The mechanism that helps fuel the motion of Earth’s tectonic plates is one of the great mysteries of geology.
that convection currents in the mantle could be the cause. While the interior of Earth is mainly solid, the mantle can be thought of as an incredibly viscous liquid, that shifts and flows over long periods of time. “We can’t rule out that locally melt doesn’t matter,” said Thorsten Becker, a co-author on the paper and a professor of geology at University of Texas Austin, in the
release. “But I think it drives us to see these observations of melt as a marker of what’s going on in the Earth, and not necessarily an active contribution to anything.”Vertagear has an ongoing Valentines Day Sale from its His & Hers collection of gaming chairs. You can save up to $150.
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