Earth science: Mantle mapped in the desert

The Mantle of the Earth

In the first decade of this century physicists discovered that the atom had a massive central core which they called a nucleus, and geophysicists discovered that the earth had a massive central nucleus which they called a core. The study of the interior of the atom, the smallest building block of matter, and the study of the interior of the earth, the largest piece of matter to which man has di...

The earth dynamic system: the earth rotation vs mantle convection

The earth dynamic system is one of the key scientific questions on the earth science. The thermodynamic behavior and gravity force of the earth and the rheology nature of the mantle prove that mantle convection is the main power source leading the lithosphere to break and move. Yet the directivity of both the structures in the crust and plate movement reminds of the earth rotation. Here we demo...

Mantle and Core of the Earth

The Origin of Volatiles in the Earth ’ s Mantle

10 The Earth’s deep interior contains significant reservoirs of volatiles such as H, C, and N. Due 11 to the incompatible nature of these volatile species, it has been difficult to reconcile their 12 storage in the residual mantle immediately following crystallization of the terrestrial magma 13 ocean (MO). As the magma ocean freezes, it is commonly assumed, very small amounts 14 of melt is ret...

Microorganisms in desert rocks: the edge of life on Earth.

This article reviews current knowledge on microbial communities inhabiting endolithic habitats in the arid and hyper-arid regions of our planet. In these extremely dry environments, the most common survival strategy is to colonize the interiors of rocks. This habitat provides thermal buffering, physical stability, and protection against incident UV radiation, excessive photosynthetically active...