An unknown layer of the mantle was found in the bowels of the Earth

Scientists compared the map of the melt layer with seismic measurements of tectonic movement, but found no connection.

Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have discovered a new layer of mantle in the bowels of the Earth. It is noted that partially molten rock plays an important role in plate tectonics. This is stated in an article published in the journal Nature Geoscience.

The layer is located more than a hundred kilometers from the Earth’s surface. It is part of the asthenosphere, located under the tectonic plates at the top of the mantle.

According to scientists, the asthenosphere is quite plastic along with neighboring layers, so it is easier for lithospheric plates to move through it.

Presumably, the cause of plasticity lies in the melting of the rock.

“The low viscosity of the asthenosphere leads to the fact that the speed of seismic waves in it falls, but the lower boundary of this zone remained poorly understood. We analyzed the seismic images of the mantle, obtaining a global map of the asthenosphere, and found that at a depth of 150 kilometers there is a positive seismic velocity gradient (velocity begins to grow with depth.) This layer is the base of the asthenosphere, where a partial melt is contained,” the article says.

Recall that earlier scientists discovered the secret of the formation of modern continents.

Earth’s interior is cooling faster than expected – scientists

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