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News From the Field

Electronic Heat Trap Grips Deep Earth


November 12, 2008

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The key to understanding Earth's evolution, including our atmosphere and how volcanoes and earthquakes form, is to look into the lower mantle, a region some 400 to 1,800 miles below the surface. Researchers at the Carnegie Institution's Geophysical Laboratory simulated conditions at these depths and discovered that the concentration of highly oxidized iron in the two major mantle minerals is key to moving heat in that region and affects material movement throughout the planet.Full Story

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Carnegie Institution

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