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Earth’s mantle may be hotter than thought

New technique for analyzing peridotite boosts temperature estimates

Earth's mantle

HOT STUFF  Temperatures in Earth’s mantle are higher than previously thought, results from a new experiment suggest.

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By Thomas Sumner

- More than 2 years ago

Temperatures across Earth’s mantle are about 60 degrees Celsius higher than previously thought, a new experiment suggests. Such toasty temperatures would make the mantle runnier than earlier research suggested, a development that could help explain the details of how tectonic plates glide on top of the mantle, geophysicists report in the March 3 Science.