Estimates of crystallization temperatures from four eruptions in northern Iceland offer improved constraints on the mantle's temperature beneath this anomalous divergent plate boundary.
Earth's mantle
Posted inResearch Spotlights
A Better Model for How the Mantle Melts
A new model of the melting behavior of certain mantle rocks gives researchers a better understanding of the source of oceanic lavas.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Variable Mantle Lies Below Ancient Pieces of Earth's Crust
Underneath old and stable pieces of Earth's crust in North America, the mantle's uppermost portion contains multiple layers that change the velocities of seismic waves.
Posted inScience Updates
UAE-Oman Mountains Give Clues to Oceanic Crust and Mantle Rocks
When oceanic plates meet continental plates, the continental plates usually come out on top. Cases where this is reversed provide valuable access to oceanic crust and mantle materials.
Posted inFeatures
What Lies Deep in the Mantle Below?
For decades, scientists have probed Earth's remote mantle by analyzing how seismic waves of distant earthquakes pass through it. But we are still challenged by the technique's limitations.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Dry Minerals in the Lower Mantle
Laboratory-made perovskite helps explain how water is distributed inside the Earth.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Mantle Below North American Plate Newly Modeled
Data from seismometers spread out across the United States give new clues to the location of structures in the underlying mantle.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
What Happens to Minerals as They Get Squeezed in the Mantle?
Researchers test how different minerals found in the Earth’s mantle respond to high temperatures and pressures.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Pyroxenes Can Be Used to Estimate Upper Mantle Water Content
Scientists suggest using the mineral pyroxene to study the water content of the Earth’s upper mantle.