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| Open AccessVelocity and density characteristics of subducted oceanic crust and the origin of lower-mantle heterogeneities
Seismology is a powerful tool to investigate Earth’s interior. Here, the authors combine numerical approaches with experimental results from previous studies to show a depth dependent behaviour of seismic waves in subducted oceanic crust in Earth’s mantle. The work challenges the currently accepted model of depth-independent seismic wave behaviour in oceanic crust.
- Wenzhong Wang
- , Yinhan Xu
- & Zhongqing Wu
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Article
| Open AccessAfrican cratonic lithosphere carved by mantle plumes
Cratons represent the ancient cores of continental plates and are generally thought to have been stable since the Archean. Here however, the authors combine seismic analysis with kimberlite data to infer complete destruction of cratonic lithosphere in some places of the African continent.
- Nicolas Luca Celli
- , Sergei Lebedev
- & Carmen Gaina
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Article
| Open AccessLarge Igneous Province thermogenic greenhouse gas flux could have initiated Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum climate change
The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum constitutes one of the largest climate perturbations in Earth’s history, but its exact causes are not well known. New estimates of greenhouse gas fluxes from the North Atlantic Igneous Province at high temporal resolution show that they could have initiated this event.
- Stephen M. Jones
- , Murray Hoggett
- & Tom Dunkley Jones
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Article
| Open AccessNo evidence for high-pressure melting of Earth’s crust in the Archean
Some of Earth’s earliest continental crust has been previously inferred to have formed from partial melting of hydrated mafic crust at pressures above 1.5 GPa (more than 50 km deep), pressures typically not reached in post-Archean continental crust. Here, the authors show that such high pressure signatures can result from melting of mantle sources rather than melting of crust, and they suggest there is a lack of evidence that Earth’s earliest crust melted at depths significantly below 40 km.
- Robert H. Smithies
- , Yongjun Lu
- & Marc Poujol
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Article
| Open AccessGlobal geochemical fingerprinting of plume intensity suggests coupling with the supercontinent cycle
The links between plate tectonics and deep mantle structure remain unclear. Here, the authors demonstrate that transition elements (Ni, Cr, and Fe/Mn) in basaltic rocks can be used as a tool to trace plume-related magmatism through Earth history, and their results indicate the presence of a direct relationship between the intensity of plume magmatism and the supercontinent cycle.
- Hamed Gamal EL Dien
- , Luc S. Doucet
- & Ross Mitchell
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Article
| Open AccessGeodynamic evolution of southwestern North America since the Late Eocene
The tectonic evolution of southwestern North America remains debated. Here, the authors present a complete time-dependent geodynamic model of the tectonic evolution of southwestern North America, which can explain the extensional collapse of the Basin and Range Province since the Late Eocene.
- Alireza Bahadori
- & William E. Holt
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Article
| Open AccessNoble gases confirm plume-related mantle degassing beneath Southern Africa
The elevation and high heat flow of Southern South Africa has controversially been attributed to a mantle plume. Here, the authors link degassed CO2 to a non-degassed mantle source rather than the convecting upper mantle, confirming plume-related mantle melting.
- S. M. V. Gilfillan
- , D. Györe
- & F. M. Stuart
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Article
| Open AccessDiamond growth from organic compounds in hydrous fluids deep within the Earth
Diamonds can give us clues to the processes regulating deep carbon transport within the Earth. Here, the author discovers evidence from diamond coatings that organic compounds exist at great depth in Earth’s interior, and furthermore, that organic molecules may provide scaffolds for diamond nucleation and growth.
- Maria Luce Frezzotti
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Article
| Open AccessMolybdenum systematics of subducted crust record reactive fluid flow from underlying slab serpentine dehydration
Fluid liberation and migration from subducted oceanic slabs play a critical role in arc magmatism but the volume and origin of the released fluids is unclear and difficult to trace. Here, the authors use Molybdenum isotope ratios to tackle these problems.
- Shuo Chen
- , Remco C. Hin
- & Tim Elliott
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Article
| Open AccessPacific subduction control on Asian continental deformation including Tibetan extension and eastward extrusion tectonics
The India-Asia collision has formed the highest mountains on Earth and is associated with extensive intraplate deformation. Here, the authors present geodynamic experiments of continental deformation across Central, East, and Southeast Asia which suggest that the Pacfic and Sunda subduction zones played an active role during intraplate deformation.
- W. P. Schellart
- , Z. Chen
- & F. M. Rosas
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Article
| Open AccessSulphur isotopes of alkaline magmas unlock long-term records of crustal recycling on Earth
Sulphur isotopes track recycling of subducted crustal material, yet few igneous rocks preserve these signals over Earth history. Here, the authors investigate a billion-year-old alkaline province in Greenland and are able to reconstruct a recycled mantle source, thus alkaline rocks can be used to reveal crustal recycling through geological time.
- William Hutchison
- , Rainer J. Babiel
- & Nicola J. Horsburgh
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Article
| Open AccessHotspot motion caused the Hawaiian-Emperor Bend and LLSVPs are not fixed
Controversy surrounds the fixity of both hotspots and large low shear velocity provinces (LLSVPs). Here, the authors present new paleomagnetic data to show that the great bend in the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain can be attributed to mantle plume motion and that LLSVPs are mobile.
- Richard K. Bono
- , John A. Tarduno
- & Hans-Peter Bunge
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Article
| Open AccessNorthward drift of the Azores plume in the Earth’s mantle
Tectonic plate motions are often reconstructed based on the assumption that mantle plumes are fixed within the mantle. Here, the authors provide geochemical and geodynamic evidence to suggest that the asymmetry of the Azores thermal anomaly can be explained by northward motion of the Azores plume.
- Maëlis Arnould
- , Jérôme Ganne
- & Xiaojun Feng
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Article
| Open AccessAncient recycled lower crust in the mantle source of recent Italian magmatism
Recycling of Earth’s crust through subduction and delamination contributes to mantle heterogeneity. Here, the authors measure coupled Sr-Nd-Pb isotope compositions of melt inclusions in Italian potassium-rich lavas, they suggest their results indicate a potential ancient lower crustal component in the mantle source.
- Janne M. Koornneef
- , Igor Nikogosian
- & Gareth R. Davies
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Article
| Open AccessRate-and-state friction explains glacier surge propagation
Predicting the friction at the ice/bedrock interface prevents a full understanding of glacier dynamics. Here, the authors present a framework for the transient evolution of basal shear stress and incorporate it in glacier simulations. This tool is capable of explaining surge onset and propagation.
- Kjetil Thøgersen
- , Adrien Gilbert
- & Anders Malthe-Sørenssen
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Article
| Open AccessSeismic evidence for a mantle suture and implications for the origin of the Canadian Cordillera
Two challenging theories, accretion versus collision, approach the orogenesis of the North American Cordillera. Here, the authors present new, high-resolution geophysical datasets consistent with a model of collision in response to westward subduction of the North American craton.
- Yunfeng Chen
- , Yu Jeffrey Gu
- & Pascal Audet
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Article
| Open AccessRelict subduction initiation along a passive margin in the northwest Indian Ocean
The tectonic evolution of the Laxmi basin, in the northwest Indian Ocean, remains controversial. Here, the authors present new geochemical and seismic data which indicate the Laxmi basin formed by a subduction initiation event during the break-up of Gondwana.
- Dhananjai K. Pandey
- , Anju Pandey
- & Scott A. Whattam
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Article
| Open AccessPotentially large post-1505 AD earthquakes in western Nepal revealed by a lake sediment record
Sediments have the potential to preserve the signature of geologic events such as earthquakes. Here, the authors provide a paleoseismological analysis of the sediments of Lake Rara, Nepal, to reconstruct the number of earthquakes that caused lake shaking and subsequent turbidite deposition during the last centuries.
- Z. Ghazoui
- , S. Bertrand
- & P. A. van der Beek
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Article
| Open AccessAborted propagation of the Ethiopian rift caused by linkage with the Kenyan rift
Continuous continental rift zones evolve from enigmatic interactions between individual propagating rift segments. Here, the authors document progressive focusing of tectonic and magmatic activity caused by interactions between the Kenyan and Ethiopian rift segments of the East African Rift.
- Giacomo Corti
- , Raffaello Cioni
- & Anne Glerum
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Article
| Open AccessSlab morphology and deformation beneath Izu-Bonin
In the 1000 km long Izu-Bonin subduction zone to the south of Tokyo, the Pacific Plate descends beneath the Philippine Sea Plate. Here the authors use teleseismic double-difference tomography to image the complex morphology of the Izu-Bonin slab, especially in the mantle transition zone.
- Haijiang Zhang
- , Fan Wang
- & Hao Guo
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Article
| Open AccessEvidence for igneous differentiation in Sudbury Igneous Complex and impact-driven evolution of terrestrial planet proto-crusts
It remains controversial whether or not impact melt sheets produced by asteroid impacts were able to undergo large-scale igneous differentiation. Here the authors present evidence for large igneous differentiation in one of these sheets and argue that this process has contributed to the evolution and lithological diversity of the proto-crusts on terrestrial planets.
- Rais Latypov
- , Sofya Chistyakova
- & Hannu Huhma
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Review Article
| Open AccessSolid Earth change and the evolution of the Antarctic Ice Sheet
The evolution of the Antarctic Ice Sheet is driven by a combination of climate forcing and non-climatic feedbacks. In this review, the authors focus on feedbacks between the Antarctic Ice Sheet and the solid Earth, and the role of these feedbacks in shaping the response of the ice sheet to past and future climate changes.
- Pippa L. Whitehouse
- , Natalya Gomez
- & Douglas A. Wiens
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Article
| Open AccessMercury’s anomalous magnetic field caused by a symmetry-breaking self-regulating dynamo
A new regime of planetary magnetic fields was revealed through the MESSENGER spacecraft mission to Mercury. Here, the authors present a numerical dynamo model that can re-produce both the axisymmetric and anomalously axially offset dipolar magnetic field of Mercury.
- Futoshi Takahashi
- , Hisayoshi Shimizu
- & Hideo Tsunakawa
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Article
| Open AccessTiny droplets of ocean island basalts unveil Earth’s deep chlorine cycle
Volatile exchange between the Earth’s interior and surface layers is one of the central issues in mantle geochemistry. Here the authors present evidence that chlorine is transferred from the surface to the deep mantle by subducted oceanic crust, forming a chlorine-rich mantle reservoir.
- Takeshi Hanyu
- , Kenji Shimizu
- & Tsuyoshi Ishikawa
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Article
| Open AccessDegassing-induced fractionation of multiple sulphur isotopes unveils post-Archaean recycled oceanic crust signal in hotspot lava
Mantle-sourced magmas erupted at hotspot volcanoes can provide clues to the sulphur cycle over geological timescales. In this work, sulphur isotopes were analysed in crystal-hosted inclusions entrapped at depth, and reveal the presence of post-Archaean recycled material in the Canary Island mantle.
- Patrick Beaudry
- , Marc-Antoine Longpré
- & John Stix
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Article
| Open AccessNormal faulting and viscous buckling in the Tibetan Plateau induced by a weak lower crust
Weak lower crustal flow in Tibet has been invoked to reconcile geophysical observations, yet viscosity estimates vary from 1016 to 1021 Pa·s. Here the authors show that viscous buckling of the upper crust in response to lower crust flow (viscosity ~1020 Pa·s) is responsible for the observed extension in Tibet.
- Sarah H. Bischoff
- & Lucy M. Flesch
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Article
| Open AccessGlobal-scale control of extensional tectonics on CO2 earth degassing
Earth degassing of CO2-rich fluids contributes significantly to the global carbon budget but its link to tectonic regimes remains unclear. Here, the authors use global geological datasets to show that there is a positive spatial correlation between CO2 discharges and extensional tectonic regimes.
- Giancarlo Tamburello
- , Silvia Pondrelli
- & Dmitri Rouwet
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Article
| Open AccessAtmospheric sulfur is recycled to the crystalline continental crust during supercontinent formation
The long-term evolution of the sulfur budget in the lithosphere is poorly constrained. Here, using mass independent isotope fractionation as an indelible tracer, the authors track the pathway of sulfur from the Earth’s surface to punctuated episodes of granitoid magmatism during collisional orogenesis.
- Crystal LaFlamme
- , Marco L. Fiorentini
- & Thi Hao Bui
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Article
| Open AccessSimulation of slip transients and earthquakes in finite thickness shear zones with a plastic formulation
Differences in energy partitioning between fast earthquakes and slow slip events (SSEs) remain unclear. Here, the authors present a new numerical technique and plastic formulation to model and provide a first-order attempt at quantifying the partitioning elastic energy release in fault zones.
- Xinyue Tong
- & Luc L. Lavier
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Article
| Open AccessMulti-terrane structure controls the contrasting lithospheric evolution beneath the western and central–eastern Tibetan plateau
The Tibetan plateau is manifested by contrasting along-strike lithospheric structures, but the correlation with multi-terrane configuration remains challenging. Here, the authors show the crucial roles of the original geometric shape of accreted terranes in regulating the lithospheric evolution of Tibetan plateau.
- Pengpeng Huangfu
- , Zhong-Hai Li
- & Yaolin Shi
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Article
| Open AccessDynamic earthquake rupture preserved in a creeping serpentinite shear zone
Creeping serpentinite shear zones may host large earthquakes, but direct evidence of frictional heating and rupture have been missing. Here, the authors demonstrate via laboratory experiments that earthquake ruptures can propagate through serpentinite shear zones shown by high-temperature reaction products.
- Matthew S. Tarling
- , Steven A. F. Smith
- & James M. Scott
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Article
| Open AccessMelting conditions in the modern Tibetan crust since the Miocene
Crustal melting may play a fundamental role in orogenic processes, but quantifying crustal melt remains difficult. Here, the authors combine pressure-temperature paths, electrical conductivity and geophysical data to elucidate the melting conditions in Tibet since the Miocene.
- Jinyu Chen
- , Fabrice Gaillard
- & Guillaume Richard
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Article
| Open AccessLate Cenozoic unification of East and West Antarctica
The West Antarctic rift system, which divides the East and West Antarctic plates, was believed to be active until 26 Myr. Here, the authors demonstrate through new geophysical data that rifting within the West Antarctic rift system lasted until 11 Myr, providing a new interpretation on the development of Antarctica.
- Roi Granot
- & Jérôme Dyment
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Article
| Open AccessStrong plates enhance mantle mixing in early Earth
The subducting plates can either penetrate straight into the lower mantle or flatten in the mantle transition zone, yet slab dynamics in the past remains unclear. Here, using subduction models, the authors predict that a hotter early Earth was probably more favourable to lower mantle slab penetration.
- Roberto Agrusta
- , Jeroen van Hunen
- & Saskia Goes
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Review Article
| Open AccessSpatio-temporal variability of processes across Antarctic ice-bed–ocean interfaces
Understudied in the Antarctic system are the subsurface interfaces between ice-sheet, ocean and geological substrate. Here, the authors review our understanding of these components and propose new avenues of holistic dynamic modeling to achieve a unified understanding of past, present and future polar climate.
- Florence Colleoni
- , Laura De Santis
- & Martin J. Siegert
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Article
| Open AccessCompositional heterogeneity near the base of the mantle transition zone beneath Hawaii
Seismic discontinuities near 410 and 660 km depth have often been used to map lateral variations in mantle temperature. Here, the authors apply array analysis to SS reflections off these discontinuities under Hawaii and find evidence of lateral variations in mantle composition at 660 km, but not at 410 km.
- Chunquan Yu
- , Elizabeth A. Day
- & Robert D. van der Hilst
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Article
| Open AccessA b map implying the first eastern rupture of the Nankai Trough earthquakes
Earthquakes generated from the Nankai Trough have caused much devastation over the years. Here, the authors present a b-value map for the Nankai Trough zone, where the Eastern part of the trough has lower b-values than the West, which may help to explain why the Eastern part tends to rupture first.
- K. Z. Nanjo
- & A. Yoshida
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Article
| Open AccessShallow very-low-frequency earthquakes accompany slow slip events in the Nankai subduction zone
Slow earthquakes are now increasingly recognised to occur at plate boundaries globally. Here, the authors examine seafloor observational data from the Nankai trough and find that very-low-frequency events and slow-slip events frequently occur together and share the same common source fault.
- Masaru Nakano
- , Takane Hori
- & Satoshi Ide
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Article
| Open AccessAndean surface uplift constrained by radiogenic isotopes of arc lavas
Multiple complex tectonic and climatic processes have formed the Andes, which today provides a unique ecological niche. Here, Scott et al. investigate how the chemical composition of lavas from stratovolcanoes can be used to give insight on the uplift of the Andes over the last 200 million years.
- Erin M. Scott
- , Mark B. Allen
- & Mihai N. Ducea
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Article
| Open AccessOn the relative motions of long-lived Pacific mantle plumes
Using mantle plumes to reconstruct past plate motion is complicated, because plumes may not be fixed. Here, the authors demonstrate using 40Ar/39Ar ages that the Rurutu plume is relatively stable compared to the rapidly moving Hawaiian plume, yet it has a similar deep mantle origin.
- Kevin Konrad
- , Anthony A. P. Koppers
- & Matthew G. Jackson
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Article
| Open AccessGlobal observations of reflectors in the mid-mantle with implications for mantle structure and dynamics
The Earth’s mantle undergoes changes as temperature and pressure increase with depth. Here, the authors present a global interrogation of reflectors in the Earth’s mid-mantle revealing a significant variation in their properties, with widespread compositional heterogeneity and seismic velocity in the mid-mantle, which signify contrasting styles of mantle flow.
- Lauren Waszek
- , Nicholas C. Schmerr
- & Maxim D. Ballmer
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Article
| Open AccessExperimental evidence supporting a global melt layer at the base of the Earth’s upper mantle
A 56–60 km thick low velocity layer exists at the base of the Earth’s upper mantle. Here, the authors experimentally reproduced the wadsleyite-to-olivine transition in the upwelling mantle and show that the low velocity anomaly can be explained by melting of hydrous peridotite.
- D. Freitas
- , G. Manthilake
- & D. Andrault
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Article
| Open AccessLower plate serpentinite diapirism in the Calabrian Arc subduction complex
Understanding subduction zone mechanics and resulting volcanism remains challenging. Here, the authors present seismic reflection profiles from the Mediterranean Sea where serpentinite diapirs are present on the external subduction system of the Calabrian Arc and may be linked to recent volcanism at Etna.
- A. Polonia
- , L. Torelli
- & M. Carlini
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Article
| Open AccessHydrologically-driven crustal stresses and seismicity in the New Madrid Seismic Zone
Large-scale changes in continental water storage have been shown to have an impact on seismicity. Here, the authors show that variation in the rate of microearthquakes in the New Madrid Seismic Zone coincides with hydrological loading in the Mississippi embayment at both annual and multi-annual timescales.
- Timothy J. Craig
- , Kristel Chanard
- & Eric Calais
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Article
| Open AccessViscosity jump in the lower mantle inferred from melting curves of ferropericlase
Viscosity increase in the mantle may cause slab stagnation and plume deflection, but the cause has been unclear. Here, the authors perform experiments showing that the viscosity of ferropericlase increases by 10–100 times from 750 to 1250 km depth indicating a single mechanism for these observations.
- Jie Deng
- & Kanani K. M. Lee
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Article
| Open AccessAndean mountain building and magmatic arc migration driven by subduction-induced whole mantle flow
The Andean orogeny commenced in the Cretaceous, but was preceded by backarc extension starting in the Jurassic. Here, the author presents a 4D geodynamic subduction model reproducing the evolution of overriding plate deformation along with a progressive decrease in slab dip, explaining Jurassic-present arc migration.
- W. P. Schellart
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Article
| Open AccessImpact-induced changes in source depth and volume of magmatism on Mercury and their observational signatures
Mantle partial melting produced the volcanic crust of Mercury. Here, the authors numerically model the formation of post-impact melt sheets and find that mantle convection was weak at around 3.7–3.8 Ga and that the melt sheets of Caloris and Rembrandt may contain partial melting of pristine mantle material.
- Sebastiano Padovan
- , Nicola Tosi
- & Thomas Ruedas
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Article
| Open AccessMantle hydration and the role of water in the generation of large igneous provinces
The genesis of large igneous provinces (LIPs) remains controversial. Here, the authors examine the water contents of picrites from the Emeishan LIP and find that despite high water contents, the elevated temperature and trace elements suggest a mantle plume from a hydrous deep reservoir rather than subduction zone related.
- Jia Liu
- , Qun-Ke Xia
- & Hao-Ran Yu
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Article
| Open AccessMixing instabilities during shearing of metals
The mechanisms behind deformation of multiphase solids are elusive. Here, the authors use X-rays and simulations to show that the same mechanisms causing rocks to fold occur at the micrometer scale in dual-metal lamellas of Ag/Cu and Al/Cu under high-pressure torsion, leading to vortices formation.
- Mohsen Pouryazdan
- , Boris J. P. Kaus
- & Horst Hahn