Latest news with #mantle
Sustainability Times
05-08-2025
- Science
- Sustainability Times
"Only the Oldest Oceanic Plates Can 'Transport Water Deep Into the Mantle'" Reveals New Olivine Heat Conductivity Breakthrough
IN A NUTSHELL 🌍 Olivine 's unique heat-conducting properties allow only the oldest oceanic plates to transport water deep into the Earth's mantle . 's unique heat-conducting properties allow only the oldest oceanic plates to transport water deep into the . 🔬 Researchers measured infrared transparency of olivine under extreme conditions, revealing its significant role in heat transfer within the mantle. of olivine under extreme conditions, revealing its significant role in heat transfer within the mantle. 🌊 The Mantle Transition Zone is the largest water reservoir, potentially holding three times more water than Earth's oceans. is the largest water reservoir, potentially holding three times more water than Earth's oceans. 📊 The study offers numerical tools to model thermal anomalies, providing insights into Earth's geodynamic behavior. In a groundbreaking study, researchers have unveiled new insights into how water is transported deep into the Earth's mantle. This discovery, revolving around the mineral olivine, suggests that only the oldest and fastest-sinking oceanic plates can carry water to significant depths. Conducted by a team from the University of Potsdam and the Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, the study highlights the unique heat-conducting properties of olivine, which plays a critical role in this subterranean water transport. The findings, published in Nature Communications, could reshape our understanding of geological processes and deep-earth water reservoirs. Understanding the Role of Olivine in Subduction The Earth's surface is composed of tectonic plates that float on the semi-fluid mantle beneath. These plates, when colliding, often lead to one plate being forced under another in a process called subduction. Oceanic plates, which are denser due to their olivine content, are more prone to subduction. Olivine, a mineral constituting about 80% of the oceanic lithosphere, is pivotal in this process. As subducting oceanic plates descend into the mantle, they undergo a transformation influenced by the surrounding heat. The mineral olivine plays a significant role in this transformation due to its ability to conduct heat through radiation. This characteristic means that only older oceanic plates, aged over 60 million years and sinking faster than 10 centimeters per year, can efficiently transport water into the mantle. This discovery sheds light on the intricate relationship between plate age, descent speed, and their capacity to carry water to profound depths. Jaya Anand Singh's Research Path : A Journey from Curiosity to Contribution Infrared Transparency of Olivine: A Groundbreaking Discovery The research team, led by geodynamicist Enrico Marzotto, measured the transparency of olivine to infrared radiation under the extreme conditions found within the Earth's mantle. This marks the first time such measurements have been conducted, revealing that olivine remains infrared transparent even under high pressure and temperature conditions. This transparency is crucial because it affects how heat is transferred in the mantle. Radiation accounts for approximately 40% of the total heat diffused in the upper mantle, making it a key factor in the thermal evolution of subducting slabs. The ability of olivine to conduct heat through radiation accelerates the heating of descending slabs, influencing their density, rigidity, and capacity to transport water-bearing minerals deep into the Earth. 'Like a Human Hand' as New Robot Tech Can Sense Slippage Before It Happens Fueling Fears of Machines Gaining Touch as Precise as People The Implications for Deep Earthquakes and Water Reservoirs The rapid heating induced by radiative heat transport can lead to the breakdown of water-bearing minerals at shallower depths. This phenomenon could potentially explain the occurrence of deep earthquakes in the slabs. These earthquakes, occurring at depths greater than 70 kilometers, are influenced by the thermal and mechanical properties of the subducting slabs. Only slabs older than 60 million years and sinking at speeds greater than 10 centimeters per year remain cold enough to transport water-bearing minerals to the Mantle Transition Zone (MTZ), located between 410 and 660 kilometers in depth. The MTZ is believed to be the planet's largest water reservoir, potentially containing up to three times more water than the Earth's oceans. This revelation underscores the importance of understanding the dynamics of subduction and the role of olivine in the Earth's water cycle. 'China Wants to Catch Ghosts Under the Sea': World's Largest Underwater Telescope Could Unlock the Most Dangerous Secrets of the Universe Future Directions and Geodynamic Implications The study not only provides insights into the thermal dynamics of subduction but also offers numerical tools to model thermal anomalies in the mantle. These anomalies, whether hot or cold, play a significant role in Earth's geodynamic behavior. The research offers a framework for understanding the lifetime and impact of these anomalies on the Earth's interior processes. Enrico Marzotto and his team have laid the groundwork for future research into the thermal and mechanical properties of the Earth's mantle. As scientists continue to explore the implications of these findings, the role of olivine and its heat-conducting properties will remain a focal point in understanding the complex interactions within our planet's interior. This study opens new avenues for understanding the Earth's internal processes and the dynamic behavior of tectonic plates. As researchers delve deeper into the mysteries of the Earth's mantle, one question remains: How will these findings influence our understanding of the planet's geological and hydrological cycles in the years to come? This article is based on verified sources and supported by editorial technologies. Did you like it? 4.6/5 (26)
Daily Mail
01-08-2025
- Science
- Daily Mail
The California mountain road hiding a 'portal in time' to Jurassic era
A remote stretch of Northern California highway is hiding something truly extraordinary - not just a scenic drive, but a rare window into Earth's deep past. Highway 199, which branches off from Highway 101 near Crescent City and winds inland along the crystal-clear Smith River, cuts through one of the only places on Earth where you can drive through exposed mantle rock - the layer that normally lies 22 miles beneath our feet. This surreal stretch, known as the Josephine Ophiolite, is a 350-square-mile patch of upper mantle and oceanic crust that was somehow forced to the surface millions of years ago. It now sprawls across the Klamath Mountains, creating an eerie, jagged landscape that scientists say looks more like the ocean floor than California backcountry. Geology professor Brandon Brown of Cal Poly Humboldt has spent years studying the area - and bringing students to see it firsthand. 'You're sort of basically driving from the mantle to the ocean floor of the Jurassic as you drive from Hiouchi to the Oregon border,' he told SF Gate. For his students, the experience is mind-blowing. 'It's just so many light bulbs' going off, Brown said. Instead of just reading about tectonic plates in a textbook, students are 'now standing in the mantle,' or standing on what was the ocean floor from 200 million years ago. Scientists flock to the area for the same reason. Researchers come from 'literally around the world' to study the Josephine, said Brown - not just for its age, but for how visibly it confirms plate tectonics in action. Before the theory gained widespread acceptance in the mid-20th century, scientists struggled to explain how continents moved, why mountains formed, or how fossils ended up on distant shores. The Josephine Ophiolite, with oceanic rock clearly thrust onto land, became a smoking gun. And it's not just what's underground that's remarkable - it's how it transforms everything you see. 'We see so many landslides and rock falls,' Brown said. That's because the exposed rock - mainly greenish serpentine and dense ultramafic material - is fragile and unstable. It doesn't behave like typical mountain rock. The same material also affects the water. '[The] river is so clear and clean because these rocks don't pulverize into tiny pieces of clay,' Brown explained. And the surrounding peaks? '[The] mountains are so jagged and sharp.' He calls it a rare opportunity 'to appreciate what the ocean lithosphere is made of.' The landscape changes in more subtle - but no less striking - ways as well. Because the mantle rock is high in magnesium and low in calcium, the soil is nutrient-poor and difficult for plants to grow in. 'When I'm taking students out there to look at this, we're almost for certain going to run into a botany class,' Brown said, '…because the types of plants that grow on them is very unique due to their obscure and strange magnesium and calcium ratios.' In some areas, you can see the transition happen right underfoot. 'You pass from redwood to giant redwood trees, and you cross the fault... Now you're looking at 100-year-old trees that are like the diameter of my arm,' he said. 'They're just sort of struggling, persisting along, using whatever nutrients they can find.' The site even holds economic interest. The rocks are rich in metals like nickel and chromium, which are key components in stainless steel and battery production. But for Brown, it's less about industry and more about awe - a place where the forces that shaped our planet are not just hidden below the surface, but written into the very land beneath your tires.
Sustainability Times
27-07-2025
- Science
- Sustainability Times
'They've Been Hiding the Real Threat': Massive Blobs Beneath Earth Revealed as the True Force Behind History's Deadliest Eruptions
IN A NUTSHELL 🌋 BLOBS are vast structures deep within the Earth's mantle that drive giant volcanic eruptions. are vast structures deep within the Earth's mantle that drive giant volcanic eruptions. 🔍 These structures interact with mantle plumes, which transport hot solid rock and trigger surface volcanic activity. 🌐 Seismic tomography has been used to illustrate the potential movement and fixed nature of BLOBS over millions of years. has been used to illustrate the potential movement and fixed nature of BLOBS over millions of years. 📊 Understanding BLOBS provides critical insights into Earth's geological history and the forces shaping its surface. The mysterious forces driving volcanic eruptions beneath the Earth's surface have long intrigued scientists and researchers. Recent studies have revealed that these eruptions are fueled by vast, complex structures located deep within the Earth's mantle. Understanding these structures, known as BLOBS, provides crucial insights into the dynamic processes that shape our planet. BLOBS, or Big LOwer-mantle Basal Structures, are continent-sized regions that play a pivotal role in driving giant volcanic eruptions. As we delve deeper into this fascinating subject, we explore the origins, behavior, and implications of these enigmatic structures. Understanding BLOBS: The Hidden Giants Beneath the Earth's surface, at depths ranging from about 1,200 to 1,900 miles, lie the colossal formations known as BLOBS. These are not just random hot spots but rather extensive regions within the mantle that may differ in composition from the surrounding mantle rock. The acronym BLOBS, coined by geologist David Evans from Yale University, highlights their significance in Earth's geological processes. For centuries, scientists were aware of two major hot regions beneath the Pacific Ocean and Africa. These BLOBS have potentially existed for hundreds of millions of years, although their exact nature remains somewhat elusive. Some theories suggest that they might be stationary, while others propose that they move as part of the mantle's convective processes. Understanding whether these BLOBS are fixed or mobile could revolutionize our knowledge of Earth's internal dynamics. 'This Sensor Sees the Unseeable': NASA's Quantum Gravity Tech Set to Revolutionize Earth Monitoring With Unmatched Precision The role of these structures becomes even more critical when linked to mantle plumes. These plumes, which can be visualized as giant lollipops with a long tail and a bulbous head, transport hot solid rock upwards through the mantle. As they ascend, they ultimately lead to volcanic activity when the rock melts at lower pressures. The Connection Between BLOBS and Volcanic Eruptions Recent studies have simulated mantle convection over the past billion years to understand the relationship between BLOBS and volcanic eruptions. These simulations shed light on how mantle plumes rise from moving BLOBS, occasionally tilting in the process. The volume of volcanic rocks preserved on Earth's surface serves as a testament to the magnitude of these eruptions. 'We Thought It Was Just Pee—It Wasn't': Whale Urine Study Uncovers Stunning Biological Secrets Hidden in Ocean Giants Oceanic plateaus like the Ontong Java-Manihiki-Hikurangi plateau are directly linked to plume heads, while chains of volcanoes such as the Hawaii-Emperor seamount chain correspond to plume tails. Statistical analyses reveal that the locations of past giant volcanic eruptions align with the mantle plumes predicted by these models, suggesting a strong connection between BLOBS, mantle plumes, and volcanic activity. This connection is vital for understanding Earth's geological history. The ability to predict the locations and timings of giant volcanic eruptions based on mantle dynamics could provide valuable insights into the planet's past and future geological events. 'Humanity's Red Dawn Is Here': Scientists Claim Terraforming Mars Is Now Possible, Unveiling Astonishing Plans for This Bold New Frontier Are BLOBS Fixed or Mobile? The question of whether BLOBS are fixed or mobile has significant implications for our understanding of Earth's internal dynamics. Research has shown that eruption locations often align with moving BLOBS, suggesting that these structures are indeed dynamic. However, some eruptions occur slightly outside these moving regions, possibly due to plume tilting. By employing seismic tomography—a technique that uses seismic waves from distant earthquakes to create 3D images of Earth's interior—scientists have represented fixed BLOBS. One seismic model matched the locations of past giant eruptions, indicating that the fixed BLOBS scenario cannot be entirely dismissed for the past 300 million years. Exploring the chemical nature of BLOBS and plume conduits is the next frontier in this research. By tracking their composition over time, scientists hope to gain deeper insights into the dynamic nature of the deep Earth. The findings suggest that BLOBS, located some 1,200 miles below the surface, move hundreds of miles over time, driven by mantle plumes that give rise to volcanic eruptions. The Broader Implications of BLOBS The study of BLOBS offers a window into the dynamic processes occurring within our planet. While deep Earth motions occur over tens of millions of years, they generally progress at a mere 0.4 inches per year. This gradual movement, akin to the growth rate of human hair each month, underscores the slow yet significant impact of these structures. The insights gained from studying BLOBS contribute to our broader understanding of Earth's geological history and the forces shaping its surface. As scientists continue to unravel the mysteries of these hidden giants, we are left to ponder the complex interplay of forces beneath our feet. How will our evolving understanding of BLOBS influence future geological discoveries and our comprehension of Earth's dynamic processes? This article is based on verified sources and supported by editorial technologies. Did you like it? 4.4/5 (24)
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Volcanic eruptions may be caused by mysterious ‘BLOBS' under the Earth
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, BGR may receive an affiliate commission. While many science books would have you believe the Earth's lower mantle—the layer deep below the crust—is smooth, it's actually made up of a mountainous-like topography that moves and changes just like the crust above it. Further, research shows that this lower mantle contains two continent-sized structures, which researchers have dubbed big lower-mantle basal structures, or BLOBS. We don't know exactly what these BLOBS consist of, but scientists suspect they could be made up of the same materials surrounding them. In fact, new research published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment suggests that the planet's volcanic activity may be driven by volcanic plumes that move with their origins. Today's Top Deals XGIMI Prime Day deals feature the new MoGo 4 and up to 42% off smart projectors Best deals: Tech, laptops, TVs, and more sales Best Ring Video Doorbell deals The origins in question, researchers believe, could be the BLOBS found deep within the Earth. These mysterious structures appear to be the driving force behind the Earth's volcanic history, and while there are scientists hard to work trying to prove that, looking at past simulations has painted a pretty clear picture to work with. To start with, the researchers used computer models to simulate the movements of the BLOBS over 1 billion years ago. These models showed that the BLOBS produced mantle plumes that were sometimes tilted or even rose up higher. This suggests that the eruptions seen over the past billion years likely took place above the BLOBS, or at least very close to them. The researchers believe that this data shows that the Earth's volcanic activity could somehow be linked to the BLOBS, despite how deep they are in the Earth. The findings are 'encouraging,' the researchers note in a post on The Conversation, as it suggests that future simulations may be able to predict where mantle plumes will strike next. This could help us create a general volcano warning system. Despite being destructive—the Hunga volcano eruption of 2022 continues to set records years later—large volcanic eruptions also have the ability to create new islands and landmasses. Knowing where they occur—or where they occurred in the past—could help us save lives and better understand how our planet formed at different points in history. Of course, we still have a lot to learn about the mysterious BLOBS found deep in the Earth. But this research is a smoking gun that could open the door for tons of new discoveries and revelations. More Top Deals Memorial Day security camera deals: Reolink's unbeatable sale has prices from $29.98 See the
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Pulsing Magma in Earth's Mantle Drives Tectonic Plates Tearing Africa Apart
A spot in eastern Africa called the Afar Triangle marks the meeting point of three rift zones—lines where Earth's crust is being rent apart. Researchers haven't been sure exactly what drives this rifting, but a new study in Nature Geoscience suggests it is caused by rhythmic pulses of molten rock from deep below the surface. Scientists first proposed in the 1970s that a hot upsurge of material from Earth's mantle, known as a plume, was occurring below this spot. Since then researchers have debated whether a single plume, multiple smaller 'plumelets' or something else entirely is pushing the plates apart. Emma Watts, a geochemist at Swansea University in Wales, wanted to settle the question, so she and a team of geophysicists, geochemists and computational scientists put their heads together and came up with a likely answer. 'The more I look into it, the more I see that you've got to have all the pieces of the puzzle to see the big picture,' she says. [Sign up for Today in Science, a free daily newsletter] The team analyzed 130 rock samples from volcanoes in the Afar region. Chemical signatures from each sample helped the scientists piece together the movement of the molten rock below Earth's surface: The researchers calculated the ratios of concentrations of elements such as lead and cerium, which can indicate whether deep mantle material has surged upward, as well as the ratios of different isotopes that each originated from slightly varying reservoirs within the mantle. After comparing their data to computational models of various permutations of mantle plumes, the researchers have found that the best explanation for their observations is a single plume that moves upward in pulses. The pulses appear to exert varying pressure that pushes on each rift zone differently, depending on the way the rift moves and the thickness of the crust on either side. The Afar Triangle's fast-spreading Red Sea Rift has pulses that move farther along the rift zone and that are more frequent than those of the slower-spreading Main Ethiopian Rift in the western part of the triangle. 'The rifting rates are really controlling what we're seeing in the plume,' Watts says. 'What we think is that [the Red Sea Rift is] spreading out faster..., so it has more space to move, and it's being stretched out easier.' The relationship between the mantle movement and the geochemical fingerprints is 'exciting because it suggests geophysics and geochemistry can be married to infer large-scale geodynamic processes,' says Catherine Rychert, a geophysicist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, who was not involved in this research. This is one of the first known examples of a dynamic mantle plume that responds to the tectonic plates above, so more research is needed to confirm the finding, Rychert says. Watts hopes this technique could be used in other rift systems and that more data from this system could give researchers a more precise view of what is happening deep below Earth's surface.
