Photos Heat to Set
May 19, 2008 -- Dramatic changes to the temperature of Earth's atmosphere could cause the planet's crust to become locked in place, research shows. The Earth's crust is like a jigsaw of free-floating, rocky plates. Below those plates is a deep layer of flowing rock called the mantle, whose movements cause the plates to move slowly around. Louis Moresi of Australia's Monash University and colleagues wanted to better understand how atmospheric temperature might affect the characteristics of the mantle. Their results appear in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters. Using a combination of mathematical simulations and theory they found that if the Earth's surface temperature rose by around 100°C and stayed that way for a few million years, the mantle could become less viscous and stop moving the tectonic plates around. "In practical terms, if you took the Earth and heated it up by 100°C then it would potentially make it very hard for these internal forces to break up the plates," Moresi said. 3 Questions: Mars Tectonics |
advertisement
Download Earth News At Bottom!Related News Feeds
Discovery News Widget
Download the widget to your site, then choose your favorite news feeds. It's easy! 
Discovery News Video
Our reporters get out and about with scientists in the field ... and the occasional animal or two. 
RSS Feeds
Get all Discovery News top stories in text or video. Or choose from eight subject areas. 
Discovery News Podcasts
Stay on top of the latest Discovery News in text and video, including Friday News Feedbag and top breakthroughs. 
|
-
our sites
-
video
mobile
-
shop
-
stay connected
-
corporate
