January 30, 2019
Thirsty mantle: Subduction zones swallow more water than thought
For all the water stored in oceans, ice and other reservoirs at Earth’s surface, there’s likely even more in the planet’s interior, where it …
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Mantle
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June 5, 2018
Diamonds reveal water in deep mantle
Inclusions in diamonds often render them undesirable to consumers, but they can provide researchers with striking insights into Earth’s …
August 10, 2017
Young Costa Rican lavas might reflect pockets of primordial mantle
During the Archean, between 4 billion and 2.5 billion years ago, Earth’s super-heated young mantle produced a unique type of lava known as …
May 15, 2017
When and how did plate tectonics begin on Earth?
The basic story of Earth’s formation is familiar to most anyone who has taken a geology course: About 4.6 billion years ago, Earth formed when a …
January 18, 2017
Moon formed from pulverized Earth mantle
Scientists have long thought that the moon was formed when an impactor crashed into Earth, some 100 million years after the planet’s formation. …
November 15, 2016
Small-scale factors influence mantle flow under the seafloor
In December 2011, scientists and technicians aboard the research vessel Marcus G. Langseth dropped several ocean-bottom seismometers into the …
September 13, 2016
Junk gem reveals new diamond-forming process
Not all diamonds are gems. Those found bearing imperfections or inclusions, known as bort or junk diamonds, are often demoted to industrial uses …
August 16, 2016
Mantle convection makes Earth's crust bob
From the earthquake-prone Himalayas and Andes to the volcanically active “Ring of Fire” around the Pacific, the boundaries of Earth’s tectonic …
July 16, 2015
Stalled slabs sometimes stopped by mineral strengthening
Subduction of tectonic plates into the mantle functions as an eons-long recycling system for Earth’s crust and lithosphere. But in some …
July 10, 2014
A watery surprise from Earth's depths: Mineral provides first direct evidence for water in mantle's transition zone
Studies of seismic waves traveling through Earth have long suggested that the mantle is like a layer cake, with regions of differing composition. …
June 13, 2013
Corn syrup model splits Yellowstone's plume in two
Yellowstone is renowned for its hot springs, geysers and for hosting one of the world’s most volatile supervolcanoes. Despite its popularity, the …
January 5, 2012
Beads of water on the moon
During the Apollo missions, NASA astronauts shoveled, bagged and sent back to Earth close to 400 kilograms of lunar rocks and soil. But …