A seismic reflection image for the base of a tectonic plate

T A Stern1, S A Henrys2, D Okaya3

  • 1Institute of Geophysics, Victoria University, Salamanca Road, Wellington 6140, New Zealand.

Nature
|February 6, 2015
PubMed
Summary

High-resolution seismic imaging reveals a low-viscosity channel at the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB). This channel, likely containing melts or volatiles, decouples tectonic plates, enabling plate tectonics.

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