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Solid Earth sciences encompass the study of the crust, mantle and core of the Earth and other rocky planetary bodies. Earth sciences include petrology, mineralogy, seismology, core studies, mantle dynamics, tectonics, volcanology, metamorphism, sedimentology, geomagnetism, palaeomagnetism, hydrogeology, and geomorphology. Sedimentary rocks are also used to study palaeontology and palaeoclimate.
What stabilized and strengthened the oldest, most robust blocks of continental crust billions of years ago during the Archaean eon has long been a mystery. It seems that a surprise helping hand might have come from the air above.
The trace-element compositions of mantle-derived basalts suggest that the asthenosphere has two distinct melt layers, with unique chemical compositions and physical properties.
In a part of the Apennines, where the Earth’s crust is thin and heat flow is high, production of CO2 from deep below the mountains dominates over near-surface weathering processes that consume this greenhouse gas. Ultimately, the magnitude of deep CO2 release tips the balance towards a landscape that is a net carbon emitter.
The CO2 degassing of the early Deccan Trap eruption may have controlled the late Maastrichtian warming event. Meanwhile, the Early Danian warming event may have been mostly controlled by orbital forcing, according to carbon isotope data from terrestrial formations in southeastern China.
The sources and sinks of Re and U in the modern ocean may be imbalanced, according to sedimentary porewater analysis and assessment of reductive Re and U removal on the continental shelf
A correlation between seismic tomography-derived upper mantle low-density bodies and crustal earthquake clusters in west-central Europe suggests mantle buoyancy forces may be a factor controlling the distribution of intracontinental seismicity
The lithospheric structure controls crustal deformation in the western US. Particularly, its abrupt thickness change along the eastern boundary of the Basin and Range leads to enhanced lithosphere-asthenosphere interaction and localized earthquakes.
Since the Jurassic, East European basins have likely been situated over a weakening mantle upwelling, which heated the basins and created suitable conditions for hydrocarbon maturation, according to geodata combined with modelling.
What stabilized and strengthened the oldest, most robust blocks of continental crust billions of years ago during the Archaean eon has long been a mystery. It seems that a surprise helping hand might have come from the air above.
The trace-element compositions of mantle-derived basalts suggest that the asthenosphere has two distinct melt layers, with unique chemical compositions and physical properties.
In a part of the Apennines, where the Earth’s crust is thin and heat flow is high, production of CO2 from deep below the mountains dominates over near-surface weathering processes that consume this greenhouse gas. Ultimately, the magnitude of deep CO2 release tips the balance towards a landscape that is a net carbon emitter.