Rock in Earth's mantle flows like hot metal, and moves fastest under the edges of tectonic plates. Recent work from CNRS in France finds that adding stochasticity into models of mantle rock movement helps capture this flow rate variability to produce more realistic models of plate tectonics.
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#MantleDynamics #PlateTectonics #Geophysics
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#MantleDynamics #PlateTectonics #Geophysics
PNAS
Randomness improves modeling of tectonic plate formation
Improved models of rock flow in the mantle can lead to better simulations of plate tectonics. At the surface, the lined and striped rock of shear zones, like this one in Cap de Creus, Spain, hint at what’s going on miles beneath the surface. Image credit:…