Earth's Mantle Rises Up Below Oceanic Crust

by Mitch Battros - Earth Changes Media


Oceanic crust covers two-thirds of the Earth's solid surface, but scientists still don't entirely understand the process by which it is made. Analysis of more than 600 samples of oceanic crust by a team including Carnegie Institution of Science Frances Jenner reveals a systemic pattern that alters long-held beliefs about how this process works, explaining a crucial step in understanding Earth's geological deep processes.

Magmas generated by melting of the Earth's mantle rise up below the oceanic crust and erupt on the Earth's surface at mid-ocean ridge systems, the longest mountain ranges in the world. When the magma cools it forms basalt, the planet's most-common rock and the basis for oceanic crust.

Using the extensive array of samples and advanced modeling, Jenner and her research partner Hugh O'Neill of the Australian National University demonstrated that the concentration of trace elements is due to the process by which the magma is cycled through the oceanic crust prior to being erupted on the sea floor at the mid-ocean ridges.

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Mitch Battros
Producer - Earth Changes Media
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