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Geodynamics

Layer cake or plum pudding?

Whether convection in the Earth's mantle extends through its entire depth or if the mantle is layered has long been debated. Recent research suggests that spatially and temporally intermittent or partial layering is the most likely solution.

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Figure 1: Leaky layers.

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Tackley, P. Layer cake or plum pudding?. Nature Geosci 1, 157–158 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo134

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