Lowell Miyagi and Diamond Anvil Press (IMAGE)
Caption
University of Utah geophysicist Lowell Miyagi holds a press that houses a diamond anvil, in which minerals can be squeezed a pressures akin to those deep within the Earth. Miyagi and a colleague in Germany squeezed mineral crystals in a diamond anvil under pressures like those deep underground. Their findings suggest the existence of a previously unknown layer of extremely stiff or viscous rock 930 miles underground in the top part of Earth's lower mantle. Such a layer would explain why seismic images have shown slabs from Earth's sinking tectonic plates sometimes stalling and thickening or pooling at that depth.
Credit
Lee J. Siegel, University of Utah
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