Tag

Mantle

All articles tagged with #mantle

earth-science23 days ago•16 min saved

Deep Mantle, Hidden Water: New Iron Minerals Could Store Earth's Ancient Water

A new Nature Geoscience study suggests Earth’s mantle could hide an ancient water reservoir. In lab experiments simulating conditions about 1,800 miles beneath the surface (roughly 2 million atmospheres and 2,500°C), scientists formed two iron oxyhydroxide minerals, Fe5O12Hx and Fe7O12Hx, that can trap water across deep-mantle conditions and may host primordial or recycled water near the core–mantle boundary. While it’s not yet proven these minerals occur naturally, the findings offer a potential deep-Earth water store and shed light on the mantle’s role in Earth’s water cycle and interior structure.

via Gizmodo|

#deep-earth #earth-science #high-pressure-experiments

science24 days ago•6 min saved

New Iron Hydrates Hint at Hidden Water Deep in Earth's Mantle

Researchers using laser-heated diamond anvils identified two iron oxyhydroxide minerals that can trap water under deep-mantle conditions near the core–mantle boundary, suggesting Earth’s water cycle may extend into the deep interior and could be released back to the surface through mantle dynamics, though the exact amounts and transport timing remain uncertain.

via ScienceAlert|

#core-mantle-boundary #iron-oxyhydroxides #mantle

science26 days ago•7 min saved

Italy’s Crust Unzips as Mantle Peels Away, Study Finds

Geologists say the Apennines region is undergoing delamination, with dense lower crust peeling away from the upper crust and sinking into the mantle. A migrating hinge under Italy drives simultaneous crust extension behind the range and compression at the front, helping explain the Tyrrhenian Sea’s opening alongside ongoing surface contraction. Using earthquakes, GPS, and satellite radar, researchers mapped a 500-km zone where Tyrrhenian and Adriatic Moho overlap, providing rare real-time evidence of mantle-lithosphere peel-back. The study, published in Communications Earth & Environment, offers a significant advance in understanding continental dynamics, though the exact slab structure remains under study.

via ScienceAlert|

#apennines #crust #delamination

science1 month ago•5 min saved

Mercury's Surface Hints at Deeper Mantle Melting and a Hotter Interior

A new analysis finds Mercury’s surface contains about 37% silicon dioxide—up to 25% less than earlier estimates—implying volcanic rocks formed from more deeply melted mantle and a hotter interior. The team calibrated infrared data with lab-made silicon dioxide glass beads, validated the method on lunar samples, and then applied it to Mercury; with no direct rock samples yet, upcoming data from the BepiColombo mission in 2026 should provide an independent check.

via SciTechDaily|

#infrared-spectroscopy #mantle #mercury

space-and-astronomy1 month ago•56 min saved

Mars' southern mantle runs hotter, reshaping its interior story

New gravity data analyzed with tidal tomography from three NASA Mars missions (MGS, Mars Odyssey, MRO) show the southern hemisphere’s mantle is 200–400 C warmer than the north, possibly partly molten. This non-symmetric interior helps explain Mars’s pronounced north–south dichotomy and has implications for its volcanic and magnetic history, hydrology, and crustal evolution. The finding, published in Nature, points to future missions probing the planet’s interior.

via Yahoo|

#gravity #mantle #mars

space1 month ago•163 min saved

Mars interior revealed: hotter southern mantle beneath a cooler northern hemisphere

A gravity-based study using archival data from Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Odyssey, and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter with a tidal tomography method shows the southern mantle is 200–400°C warmer than the north, implying a hotter, potentially partially molten interior that helps explain Mars’ hemispheric surface dichotomy and seismic/magnetic clues. The exact cause—ancient giant impact vs crustal thickness differences—remains uncertain, and future gravity data could test the 3D interior model.

via Space|

#gravity #interior #mantle

science1 month ago•4 min saved

Hidden Heat in Mars’ Mantle Reveals Clues to the North-South Divide

Using tidal tomography on 16 years of data from MGS, Odyssey, and MRO, scientists found Mars’ southern mantle is 400–750°F hotter than the north, a thermal asymmetry that mirrors the crustal dichotomy and may result from mantle convection or long-lasting insulation. The finding doesn’t settle the cause but introduces a powerful, non-landing method for probing planetary interiors and insights into Mars’ past habitability.

via 404 Media|

#dichotomy #mantle #mars

science2 months ago•10 min saved

Neutrinos Sketch Earth's Mantle Heat Map

A global network of neutrino detectors, including Canada’s SNO+ and China’s JUNO, is measuring geoneutrinos to quantify the heat-producing elements in Earth’s mantle. Early results from SNO+ show western hemisphere fluxes that hint at mantle heterogeneity linked to deep structures like large low-shear-velocity provinces (LLSVPs), but large uncertainties remain. More data and improved geological modeling, and possibly an ocean-bottom detector, could sharpen the map of the planet’s interior heat sources.

via Quanta Magazine|

#geoneutrinos #juno #mantle

science2 months ago•7 min saved

Four tech advances unlock the deep ocean's hidden frontiers

Scientists are unlocking the deep ocean with four key technologies: ocean-bottom seismometers mapping mantle convection; China’s Meng Xiang drilling ship to obtain pristine mantle samples; hydrophones enabling rapid, global tsunami prediction; and repurposed deep-sea cables transforming into a vast seismic surveillance network—together they aim to illuminate Earth’s mantle, plate tectonics and coastal hazards in a region still largely unmapped.

via Nature|

#deep-ocean #mantle #oceanography

science3 months ago•3 min saved

Utah's Hidden Mantle Quakes Rewrite Deep-Earth Tectonics

A previously mysterious 1979 Utah quake—deep beneath the crust at about 55 miles down—kicks off new research identifying eight later deep earthquakes in the upper mantle near the Wyoming Craton. Scientists say these mantle quakes are archetypal continental mantle events driven by slow mantle flow around cratonic roots, lack foreshocks/aftershocks, and illustrate a tectonic regime at extreme depths that differs from crustal earthquakes.

via Futurism|

#earthquakes #geology #mantle

science3 months ago•34 min saved

Utah Quakes Reveal Surprising Mantle Movements Beneath the Craton

Scientists reviewing a 1979 northern Utah quake (magnitude 3.8) and eight later deep earthquakes have confirmed they originate in the upper mantle, dozens of miles below the crust, near the Wyoming Craton. The findings, published in The Seismic Record, suggest mantle flow around the craton triggers these deep continental earthquakes, a type of seismic activity that operates very differently from crustal quakes and may vary greatly in size over geologic timescales, underscoring how much about deep Earth remains to be learned.

via Yahoo News New Zealand|

#earthquakes #mantle #science

science4 months ago•15 min saved

Earth’s Hidden Mantle Water May Outsize All Surface Freshwater

A diamond-hosted ringwoodite inclusion proves water is chemically bound in Earth's mantle transition zone (410–660 km deep). If representative, this hydrated zone could hold multiple times the volume of Earth’s surface oceans, making mantle water a vast, long-term reservoir that participates in the deep water cycle. The water is not liquid at surface conditions and isn’t recoverable on human timescales, but its existence reshapes our understanding of Earth's total water budget and how surface oceans are buffered over geological time.

via Space Daily|

#mantle #ringwoodite #science

science4 months ago•20 min saved

Mantle clues point to budding tectonic split in southern Africa

Oxford-led research finds mantle-derived fluids rising to the surface along Zambia's Kafue Rift, indicated by helium isotope signatures, signaling active tectonics and a possible early fragmentation of sub-Saharan Africa within a long “zone of weakness” from Tanzania to Namibia, with potential geothermal-energy implications.

via Diario AS|

#africa #geology #kafue-rift

science4 months ago•3 min saved

Deep mantle heat flow explains Indian Ocean gravity dip

Scientists modeling Earth’s interior propose a long-lived, hot, low-density mantle upwelling originating beneath Africa drifts east beneath the Indian Ocean, reducing local mass and producing the observed geoid low. The idea, supported by 100-million-year simulations and the Indian plate’s motion, explains why satellite data show a persistent dip in the sea surface, though the interpretation is still debated.

via The Times of India|

#geoid #gravity #indian-ocean

science4 months ago•4 min saved

Hidden Deep-Earth Ocean Could Triple Earth's Water

Scientists report a vast, bound water reservoir about 700 km below the surface, stored in the mineral ringwoodite in the mantle's transition zone. Using seismic data from roughly 2,000 stations and 500 earthquakes, they estimate this deep ocean could contain about three times as much water as all surface oceans, suggesting Earth's water partly originates from within and that the deep cycle helps keep surface oceans stable over geological time.

via The Daily Galaxy|

#deep-earth-water-cycle #mantle #ringwoodite