Contact: Viktor Struzhkin
vstruzhkin@gl.ciw.edu
202-478-8952
Carnegie Institution

The Deep Earth

Caption: As depth increases in the planet, so does the temperature and pressure. In this diagram the crust and upper mantle is grey, the lower mantle is yellow, the outer is core orange, and the inner core is bright orange. The pressure between the upper and lower mantle is about 23 gigapascals or about 230,000 times atmospheric pressure at sea level. At the base of the lower mantle the pressure increases to an intense 1.35 million times sea-level pressure (135 GPa).

Credit: Image courtesy Russell Hemley.

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