Scientists have identified an ancient piece of the Pacific Ocean – the ancient remnants of its old coastline – that stretches hundreds of miles beneath China as it is pulled down into the Earth’s mantle change zone.
This rock slab used to line the bottom of the Pacific is a symbol of the ocean. Lithosphere, The outermost layer of the earth’s surface, formed by the crust and the solid outer part of the upper membrane.
However, Lithosphere is not always sure to enjoy the above ideas. The upper surface layer is composed of several pieces Textonic plate, Which rotate slowly and move on the surface, occasionally moving into each other.
During these collisions, a geological process is called Under Maybe one plate is forced under another Area under, And end up always walking deep in the planet.
In one New studyScientists in China and the United States have now found that this epic phenomenon is happening at a much deeper level than before.
Earlier, scientists had upgraded boundary probe slabs at a depth of about 200 kilometers (about 125 miles).
Now, in exchange for a vast network of more than 300 seismic stations spread around northeastern China, researchers have been able to observe the event at a very low point, imaging parts of the tectonic plate lying beneath the Pacific Ocean. Was being pushed in the middle of. Level Transition zone, At depths between 410-660 kilometers (254–410 miles) above the Earth’s surface.
To explain the sinking slab, the team identified two seismic disease prevention, underground areas where seismic waves are exposed to vicars. In this case, there were two defects, which the team says are related to both the upper and lower sides of the plunging plate.
“Based on a detailed analysis of the earthquake, the above closure was explained Moho closed Says I-Fu Chen, a geophysicist from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
“Less obstruction is probably due to partial melting of the sub-slab Asthenosphere In hydraulic conditions in the marine part of the slab. “
While the subordination of the plate can be seen in the process below China, the subdivision zone itself is very close to the east, with the slab having a comparatively 25-degree angle.
“Japan is located at a point where the Pacific Plate reaches a depth of about 100 kilometers,” he said. Says Earthquake scientist Fanglin Niu from Rice University.
Thanks to the new imaging, scientists are getting a better idea of how it deteriorates when it reaches this part of the transition zone, and how much water is lost from its ocean floor.
“A lot of studies suggest that the slab actually degrades a lot in the mantle transformation zone, that it softens, so it’s easily deformed,” he said. Says Niue.
“We are still debating whether this water has been completely submerged at this depth. There is growing evidence that a portion of the water goes too deep into the plate.”
As stated in the findings Nature geology.
This article was originally published by Science Alert. Read the original article Here.
