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Role of dynamic topography in sustaining the Nile River over 30 million years
The path of the river Nile has been stable for as long as 30 million years, sustained by mantle convection, according to geophysical and geological evidence and geodynamic model simulations.
- Claudio Faccenna
- , Petar Glišović
- & Zohar Gvirtzman
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Large-scale flow of Indian Ocean asthenosphere driven by Réunion plume
A large, deep reservoir of asthenosphere flows eastward from the Réunion hotspot and interacts with the Indian spreading ridge, suggests seismological imaging.
- G. Barruol
- , K. Sigloch
- & J. Dyment
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Fluid overpressure from chemical reactions in serpentinite within the source region of deep episodic tremor
Chemical reactions between slab and mantle rocks may lead to brittle failure where deep episodic tremor occurs in subduction zones, according to field and microstructural observations of a shear zone in New Zealand.
- Matthew S. Tarling
- , Steven A. F. Smith
- & James M. Scott
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Extensive crustal extraction in Earth’s early history inferred from molybdenum isotopes
Steady-state chemical differentiation between Earth’s mantle and crust was reached 3.5 billion years ago, following vigorous crustal recycling, according to mass balance modelling of molybdenum isotopes measured in mantle-derived volcanic rocks.
- Alex J. McCoy-West
- , Priyadarshi Chowdhury
- & Helen M. Williams
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News & Views |
The deep roots of Earth’s surface
The structure of the lithosphere is key to reconciling the dynamic topography predicted by mantle convection models with residual topography derived from observations, suggest analyses of both models and data.
- Nicolas Flament
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Ubiquitous ultra-depleted domains in Earth’s mantle
Depleted mantle is a volumetrically dominant component of the Azores plume and possibly of oceanic basalt sources more generally, according to neodymium isotope compositions of olivine-hosted melt inclusions from lavas of the Azores mantle plume.
- Andreas Stracke
- , Felix Genske
- & Janne M. Koornneef
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Earth’s multi-scale topographic response to global mantle flow
The structure of the lithosphere and its impact on mantle flow significantly influence the impact of Earth’s interior dynamics on surface topography, suggest statistical analyses of Earth’s topography.
- D. R. Davies
- , A. P. Valentine
- & C. R. Wilson
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Earth’s topographic relief potentially limited by an upper bound on channel steepness
The channel morphology of rapidly eroding landscapes does not scale with river erosion rates, according to isotopic and topographic analysis.
- George E. Hilley
- , Stephen Porder
- & Holly H. Young
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Burma Terrane part of the Trans-Tethyan arc during collision with India according to palaeomagnetic data
The Burma Terrane was part of a Trans-Tethyan island arc that began to collide with India 60 million years ago, according to palaeomagnetic data.
- Jan Westerweel
- , Pierrick Roperch
- & Day Wa Aung
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News & Views |
A silicon memory of subduction
Subduction processes may have operated very early in Earth’s history according to the heavy silicon isotope compositions of Archaean igneous rocks. The silicon that precipitated out of the Archaean oceans as chert was subducted and melted to yield seawater-like heavy isotope signatures in early granitic rocks.
- Franck Poitrasson
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An oceanic subduction origin for Archaean granitoids revealed by silicon isotopes
Archaean granitic rocks formed by melting of silica-enriched subducted basaltic crust through interaction with seawater, according to heavy silicon isotopes measured in Archaean samples.
- Zhengbin Deng
- , Marc Chaussidon
- & Frédéric Moynier
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Early continental crust generated by reworking of basalts variably silicified by seawater
Granitic continental crust in the Archaean formed from a basaltic source that was enriched in silica due to interaction with the early oceans before melting, according to silicon isotope analyses on rocks from the Kaapvaal craton.
- Luc André
- , Kathrin Abraham
- & Stephen Foley
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Optimal depth of subvolcanic magma chamber growth controlled by volatiles and crust rheology
Volatile exsolution and crustal viscosity dictate that the optimum pressure for the growth of an eruptible magma reservoir is 2 kbar in all tectonic settings and crustal compositions, according to thermomechanical modelling.
- Christian Huber
- , Meredith Townsend
- & Olivier Bachmann
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News & Views |
Plateaus from seafloor spreading
Ocean-floor plateaus are not voluminous lava flows from central volcanoes as thought, but anomalously thick oceanic crust, suggest magnetic anomaly patterns from the Shatsky Rise, in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.
- Joanne M. Whittaker
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Oceanic plateau formation by seafloor spreading implied by Tamu Massif magnetic anomalies
The Shatsky Rise oceanic plateau formed by spreading ridge volcanism, according to analyses of linear magnetic anomalies over the Tamu Massif submarine volcano.
- William W. Sager
- , Yanming Huang
- & Jinchang Zhang
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Regional stratification at the top of Earth's core due to core–mantle boundary heat flux variations
Stratification of the Earth’s outer core is regional, not global, and created by lateral heat flux variations at the core–mantle boundary, according to numerical simulations of fluid core dynamics
- Jon Mound
- , Chris Davies
- & Jon Aurnou
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Slurry extrusion on Ceres from a convective mud-bearing mantle
Ahuna Mons dome on Ceres formed by extrusion of a mixture of brine and solids sourced from a muddy mantle plume, according to numerical modelling of slurry rheology and a gravity anomaly found by the Dawn mission.
- Ottaviano Ruesch
- , Antonio Genova
- & Maria T. Zuber
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Pluto’s ocean is capped and insulated by gas hydrates
Pluto’s subsurface ocean and thickness variation in its ice shell may be maintained by a layer of methane clathrates forming an insulating cap to the ocean, according to calculations of thermal evolution and viscous relaxation.
- Shunichi Kamata
- , Francis Nimmo
- & Atsushi Tani
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Geomagnetic jerks and rapid hydromagnetic waves focusing at Earth’s core surface
Geomagnetic jerks in the Earth’s magnetic field are caused by the arrival of hydromagnetic waves and could be generated by sudden releases of buoyancy in the Earth’s core, suggest geodynamic numerical model simulations.
- Julien Aubert
- & Christopher C. Finlay
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Ubiquitous lower-mantle anisotropy beneath subduction zones
Lower-mantle anisotropy is present beneath all subduction zones, indicating that dislocation creep is active in the lower mantle, according to analysis of 3D global seismic tomography images.
- Ana M. G. Ferreira
- , Manuele Faccenda
- & Lewis Schardong
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News & Views |
Map of the underworld
A chemically distinct region separates the Indian and Pacific mantle domains as revealed by isotope analyses on rare samples from the Australian–Antarctic Ridge.
- Pamela D. Kempton
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News & Views |
Scraped by flat-slab subduction
During flat subduction, material is scraped off the base of the continental mantle lithosphere, building a migrating keel. This testable mechanism for flat subduction recreates features of the Laramide orogeny.
- Marc-André Gutscher
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Basal continental mantle lithosphere displaced by flat-slab subduction
Continental mantle lithosphere is scraped from the base of the overriding plate by the underlying oceanic slab during flat subduction, according to numerical thermal–mechanical models.
- Gary J. Axen
- , Jolante W. van Wijk
- & Claire A. Currie
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Widespread volcanism in the Greenland–North Atlantic region explained by the Iceland plume
Volcanism across the North Atlantic region 62 million years ago is consistent with an Iceland plume source, despite the absence of a classic hotspot track, suggest tomographic images and geodynamic models.
- Bernhard Steinberger
- , Eva Bredow
- & Trond H. Torsvik
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True polar wander of Ceres due to heterogeneous crustal density
The dwarf planet Ceres may have reoriented in the past due to a heterogeneously dense crust, a scenario consistent with gravity and topographic data and the distribution of crustal fractures.
- P. Tricarico
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Deep embrittlement and complete rupture of the lithosphere during the Mw 8.2 Tehuantepec earthquake
Geophysical observations of the 2017 Tehuantepec earthquake suggest that oceanic lithosphere can sustain brittle behaviour and rupture in an earthquake at greater depths than previously assumed.
- Diego Melgar
- , Angel Ruiz-Angulo
- & Leonardo Ramirez-Guzmán
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Slab stagnation due to a reduced viscosity layer beneath the mantle transition zone
Slab stagnation in the transition zone is explained by a thin, weak layer and is transient on timescales of tens of millions of years, according to a global mantle convection model that includes phase changes and plate motion history.
- Wei Mao
- & Shijie Zhong
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Forced subduction initiation recorded in the sole and crust of the Semail Ophiolite of Oman
The subduction system recorded by the Semail Ophiolite of Oman was initiated by far-field events, according to a comparison of the ages of the upper and lower plate material.
- Carl Guilmette
- , Matthijs A. Smit
- & Dany Savard
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Rapid transition from continental breakup to igneous oceanic crust in the South China Sea
The onset of seafloor spreading in the northern South China Sea was marked by the rapid onset of magmatism and mantle upwelling, suggests an analysis of International Ocean Discovery Program core material.
- H. C. Larsen
- , G. Mohn
- & L. Zhong
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Continental break-up of the South China Sea stalled by far-field compression
Tectonic loading in the direction of propagation exerts an important control on the propagation of continental break-up, according to three-dimensional simulations of the South China Sea.
- Laetitia Le Pourhiet
- , Nicolas Chamot-Rooke
- & Manuel Pubellier
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Archaean continental spreading inferred from seismic images of the Yilgarn Craton
Seismic images of giant crustal-collapse structures preserved in the Yilgarn Craton, Australia, reveal that these structures may have formed over 2.5 billion years ago when the cores of continents were hot and weak.
- Andrew J. Calvert
- & Michael P. Doublier
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Nucleation of the 1999 Izmit earthquake by a triggered cascade of foreshocks
The magnitude 7.6 Izmit earthquake that struck Turkey in 1999 was nucleated by an eastward-migrating cascade of foreshocks, according to high-resolution analyses of seismic data.
- William L. Ellsworth
- & Fatih Bulut
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Earthquake nucleation and fault slip complexity in the lower crust of central Alaska
A strike-slip fault zone in central Alaska exhibits a range of earthquake slip processes, including very-low-frequency earthquakes, some of which transition into regular, fast earthquakes.
- Carl Tape
- , Stephen Holtkamp
- & Michael E. West
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Thermal effects of pyroxenites on mantle melting below mid-ocean ridges
Pyroxenite—recycled, subducted material—beneath mid-ocean ridges cools the mantle, suppressing melt extraction and crust formation, according to geochemical analyses of samples taken from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
- Daniele Brunelli
- , Anna Cipriani
- & Enrico Bonatti
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News & Views |
Yellowstone debate erupts again
The heat driving Yellowstone’s volcanism originates from a depth of at least 700 km, according to images of the mantle created using novel seismic methods.
- Karin Sigloch
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Anomalous mantle transition zone beneath the Yellowstone hotspot track
The mantle transition zone in the western United States is perturbed along a path that mirrors the line of the Yellowstone hotspot track at the surface, according to analysis of tomographic data.
- Ying Zhou
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An updated stress map of the continental United States reveals heterogeneous intraplate stress
Crustal stress in the interior of the United States is spatially variable and largely controlled by local forces, rather than those transmitted from tectonic plate boundaries, according to a map of the continental stress field.
- Will Levandowski
- , Robert B. Herrmann
- & Ryan Gold
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Episodic magmatism and serpentinized mantle exhumation at an ultraslow-spreading centre
Lithosphere at ultraslow-spreading mid-ocean ridges can form via a combination of serpentinized mantle exhumation and magmatism, according to analyses of seismic surveys from the Cayman Trough.
- Ingo Grevemeyer
- , Nicholas W. Hayman
- & Cord Papenberg
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Indian Ocean floor deformation induced by the Reunion plume rather than the Tibetan Plateau
Deformation of the Indian Ocean floor over the past 8 million years was caused by a change in plate motions linked to flow of the Reunion mantle plume, according to analyses of forces upon plates.
- G. Iaffaldano
- , D. R. Davies
- & C. DeMets
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Earth's oldest stable crust in the Pilbara Craton formed by cyclic gravitational overturns
The oldest stable crust on Earth may have formed during pulsed growth cycles, according to geochemical analyses of rocks preserved in the Pilbara Craton, Western Australia.
- Daniel Wiemer
- , Christoph E. Schrank
- & Charlotte M. Allen
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Migrating pattern of deformation prior to the Tohoku-Oki earthquake revealed by GRACE data
Deformation migrated from depth towards the surface in the months leading up to the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake, according to analyses of satellite gravity data.
- Isabelle Panet
- , Sylvain Bonvalot
- & Jean-Michel Lemoine
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Efficient cooling of rocky planets by intrusive magmatism
Rocky planets dominated by intrusive magmatism can cool more efficiently than those dominated by extrusive volcanism, according to numerical simulations of mantle convection.
- Diogo L. Lourenço
- , Antoine B. Rozel
- & Paul J. Tackley
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Accretion mode of oceanic ridges governed by axial mechanical strength
The shape of mid-ocean ridges is influenced by lithospheric mechanical strength, according to laboratory simulations of diverging plates. The results imply that large tectonic plates probably could not have formed on a younger, hotter Earth.
- A. L. R. Sibrant
- , E. Mittelstaedt
- & R. Pidoux
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Lower-mantle plume beneath the Yellowstone hotspot revealed by core waves
The Yellowstone hotspot could be fed by a thin, thermal mantle plume that extends from the core–mantle boundary to the surface position of the hotspot, according to analyses of seismic data.
- Peter L. Nelson
- & Stephen P. Grand
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Continuous reorientation of synchronous terrestrial planets due to mantle convection
Mantle convection in rocky planets in a synchronous orbit around their host stars can induce continuous reorientation, according to an analysis of the efficiency of true polar wander for synchronous exoplanets.
- Jérémy Leconte
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News & Views |
When plumes tickle continents
Continental stability may be linked to a shallow, buoyant mantle layer, and the deepest craton roots can be destabilized and removed by mantle plumes.
- Eric Debayle