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Solid Earth sciences encompass the study of the crust, mantle and core of the Earth and other rocky planetary bodies. Earth sciences include petrology, mineralogy, seismology, core studies, mantle dynamics, tectonics, volcanology, metamorphism, sedimentology, geomagnetism, palaeomagnetism, hydrogeology, and geomorphology. Sedimentary rocks are also used to study palaeontology and palaeoclimate.
What stabilized and strengthened the oldest, most robust blocks of continental crust billions of years ago during the Archaean eon has long been a mystery. It seems that a surprise helping hand might have come from the air above.
The trace-element compositions of mantle-derived basalts suggest that the asthenosphere has two distinct melt layers, with unique chemical compositions and physical properties.
In a part of the Apennines, where the Earth’s crust is thin and heat flow is high, production of CO2 from deep below the mountains dominates over near-surface weathering processes that consume this greenhouse gas. Ultimately, the magnitude of deep CO2 release tips the balance towards a landscape that is a net carbon emitter.
Intermediate-depth intra-slab earthquakes can be generated in the regions of subducted slabs affected by transient stress increases, according to 2-D thermomechanical modeling of bending plates at subduction zones.
Submersible observations find that chemosymbiotic foundation fauna around hydrothermal vents near the 2022 Hunga eruption were decimated by rapid ash deposition, while populations of heterotrophs were more resilient.
What stabilized and strengthened the oldest, most robust blocks of continental crust billions of years ago during the Archaean eon has long been a mystery. It seems that a surprise helping hand might have come from the air above.
The trace-element compositions of mantle-derived basalts suggest that the asthenosphere has two distinct melt layers, with unique chemical compositions and physical properties.
In a part of the Apennines, where the Earth’s crust is thin and heat flow is high, production of CO2 from deep below the mountains dominates over near-surface weathering processes that consume this greenhouse gas. Ultimately, the magnitude of deep CO2 release tips the balance towards a landscape that is a net carbon emitter.