The cooling of planet Earth over time increased the water carrying capacity of the mantle and could have shrunk the oceans.
Earth’s interior
Subduction May Recycle Less Water Than Thought
A new analysis of seismic data from the Middle America Trench suggests that previous calculations have vastly overestimated the total amount of water transported to the mantle worldwide.
The Wobbly Anomaly and Other Magnetic Weirdness
From the connection between Earth’s core and life on the surface, way out to the ends of the solar system, this month’s issue of Eos takes a look at the study of magnetic fields.
The Herky-Jerky Weirdness of Earth’s Magnetic Field
Dented, erratic, and wandering, our field is constantly changing its mind.
Geologists to Shed Light on the Mantle with 3D Model
The model, which will incorporate 227 million surface wave measurements, could help with everything from earthquake characterization to neutrino geosciences.
The Resurrection Plate Is Dead, Long Live the Resurrection Plate
Using a technique similar to taking a CT scan of Earth, researchers found the possible remnants of a long-debated “missing” tectonic plate.
Pearson and Reid Receive 2019 Norman L. Bowen Awards
Graham Pearson and Mary R. Reid received the 2019 Norman L. Bowen Award at AGU’s Fall Meeting 2019, held 9–13 December in San Francisco, Calif. The award recognizes “outstanding contributions to the fields of volcanology, geochemistry, and petrology.”
Creasy and Wu Receive 2019 Study of the Earth’s Deep Interior Section Award for Graduate Research
Neala Marie Creasy and Wenbo Wu received the 2019 Study of the Earth’s Deep Interior Section Award for Graduate Research at AGU’s Fall Meeting 2019, held 9–13 December in San Francisco, Calif. The award is given annually for advances that contribute to “the understanding of the deep interior of the Earth or other planetary bodies using a broad range of observational, experimental, or theoretical approaches.”
Unexpected Oceanic Lithosphere-Asthenosphere P-wave Velocities
A peak in seismic P-wave – S-wave velocity ratios at the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary beneath old Pacific lithosphere requires an additional property besides temperature as an explanation.
Olivine Micropillars Reveal Shallow Lithosphere Rheology
Micrometer scale investigation of the rheological properties of olivine in pressure and temperature conditions corresponding to the shallow lithosphere.