Gooey rock in mantle thickens 1,000 kilometers down
Transition region resists the movement of magma plumes, sinking plates
HOT STUFF Earth’s mantle rapidly becomes more viscous around 1,000 kilometers below ground (gray bar), new research shows. That viscosity increase could narrow and deflect the rising plumes of hot rock (yellow blobs) that fuel volcanoes on the surface.
M.L. Rudolph, V. Lekić and C. Lithgow-Bertelloni