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Earth science

Roots of the matter

Nature volume 422, pages 674–675 (2003)Cite this article

How far down does the ancient continental material that constitutes Earth's 'tectosphere' extend? Fresh interpretation of the behaviour of seismic waves helps in reconciling previous estimates.

Over the past three decades there has been vigorous debate over how thick the continents can be — that is, the depth to which the rigid crust and upper mantle reach before meeting convecting mantle that can flow and drive tectonic motion. On page 707 of this issue1, Gung and colleagues add new seismological interpretations that go some way to explaining the differing views.

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  1. the Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia

    B. L. N. Kennett

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  1. B. L. N. Kennett
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Correspondence to B. L. N. Kennett.

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Kennett, B. Roots of the matter. Nature 422, 674–675 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/422674a

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