Scientists have drilled into Earth’s crust for decades to understand natural hazards, past climates, energy resources, and more. They’ve only scratched the surface of what we can learn.
Earth's mantle
Posted inNews
Scientists Remap Earth’s Gravity
An uncommon way of looking at the world reveals the evolution of a deep gravity hole beneath Antarctica.
Posted inNews
What do BLOBs Have to Do with Earth’s Magnetic Field? A Lot, It Turns Out
Enormous provinces of superheated mantle exert a powerful influence over our planet’s magnetic field, researchers have discovered.
Posted inNews
Scientists Create the First Map of Deep Earthquakes Beneath Continents
Scientists once thought Earth’s continental mantle was too weak for earthquakes. A new global map of 459 deep tremors suggests otherwise.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Kyanite Exsolution Reveals Ultra-Deep Subduction of Continents
Laboratory experiments provide the first experimental evidence that continental rocks can be subducted to depths greater than 300 kilometers and return to the surface.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
From Mantle Flow to River Flow: Shaping Earth’s Surface from Within
The convection of the Earth’s mantle shapes its surface, carving fault networks into the lithosphere that can guide the course of rivers.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Seismic Anisotropy Reveals Deep-Mantle Dynamics
A new study offers insight into the viscous BLOBs at the base of Earth’s mantle.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
New 3D Model Reveals Geophysical Structures Beneath Britain
Using magnetotelluric data to identify subsurface electrically conductive and resistive areas, scientists can identify underground features and predict how space weather may affect infrastructure.
Posted inNews
Blame It on the BLOBs
For decades, scientists have suspected that large volcanic eruptions have their origins in two mysterious massive regions at the base of our planet’s mantle. Now, it’s been statistically proven.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Finding the Gap: Seismology Offers Slab Window Insights
Studying slow tremors has helped researchers home in on the youngest part of the Chile Triple Junction’s gap between subducting plates, which offers a window to the mantle.