Report: Earth's Mantle Is 100 Degrees F Hotter Than Previously Thought
The new study found the temperature of Earth's scorching insides is sweltering 2,570 degrees Fahrenheit (1,410 degrees Celsius). The discovery reveals that the mantle under Earth's oceans- that area just below the crust that extends down to the planet's inner liquid core that is almost 110 degrees F.
According to LIVE SCIENCE, the discovery suggests that the mantle oceans is almost 110 degrees F (60 degrees C) hotter than scientists previously thought. The new research finding will help scientists more accurately about Earth's many geodynamic processes, including plate tectonic.
The scientist believes that the hot mantle could mean that the mantle is less viscous, and that can probably explain how the tectonic plates are able to move on top of the asthenosphere, the upper layer of Earth's mantle. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Hole Oceanographic Institution have jointly studied the research.
The Science has reported that the mantle under Earth's oceans is blazing hot, as it generated the lava that bursts out of underwater volcanoes. But it is very difficult for scientists to travel, mantle and directly measure the temperature at which it melts. For that, the scientists are trying to create mantle rocks by combining powders of mineral building blocks.
However, the mantle rocks contain very less amount of water. The researchers stated that it is very tough to check current amount of waters.
The mineral called olivine helped the researchers to solve the puzzle another way. The olivine grains are about the size of fine sand, and large enough that the researchers can accurately measure water within the grains.
The experiments of the research suggested that the mantle melts is relatively close to Earth's surface. Another recent finding showed that the mantle actually melts deep beneath the Earth's surface.
However, the discovery is an appreciable correction for the temperature of the mantle under the ocean. The study and the research papers were published online in the journal Nature.
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