Tag Archive for: tectonic plates

Utah Geological Survey

A stiff new layer in Earth’s mantle: Why the planet’s conveyor belt hangs up 930 miles deep

phys.org

By crushing minerals between diamonds, a University of Utah study suggests the existence of an unknown layer inside Earth: part of the lower mantle where the rock gets three times stiffer. The discovery may explain a mystery: why slabs of Earth’s sinking tectonic plates sometimes stall and thicken 930 miles underground.

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Utah Geological Survey

Scientists Have Imaged the Base of a Tectonic Plate

Talk about leaving no stone unturned. Check out this article on tectonic plates, and how scientists are learning what drives them.

smithsonianmag.com

By setting off explosions and listening for their reverberations deep inside Earth, scientists have taken the equivalent of a CT scan of the base of a tectonic plate. The results show that the base has a thin, slippery layer that may help the plate move across a more viscous layer of rock below—and may explain what drives plate tectonics.

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