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Researchers at the Victoria University of Wellington near the southern part of New Zealand's North
Island. | Victoria University of Wellington
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Scientists have long known that the Earth's crust consists of at least 15 tectonic
plates--continent-sized slabs of rock on the surface of the Earth that shift about to
create mountains, volcanoes, and earthquake zones. But the exact mechanism by
which the plates move has remained a mystery.
Until now.
A new study suggests that the plates glide about on a six-mile-thick hidden channel
of "soft" rock located between the base of the plates and the upper portion of the
Earth's mantle (the layer of molten rock above the planet's core), Live Science
reported.
The idea that Earths surface consists of a mosaic of moving plates is a well-
established scientific paradigm, but it had never been clear about what actually
moves the plates around," study co-author Dr. Tim Stern, a professor of geography,
environment and earth sciences at Victoria University of Wellington in New
Zealand, said in a written statement. To work this out requires an understanding of
what happens at the bottom of a tectonic plate."
The data showed that the seismic waves slowed abruptly at the base of the plate--
which suggests that they must have hit a hidden layer of jelly-like rock, Cosmos
magazine reported.
The researchers hypothesize that the soft rock creates a slippery base upon which
plates drift when they are pushed or pulled--though exactly what is doing the
pushing or pulling is still up for debate.
Understanding this boundary between the base of cold, rigid tectonic plates and the
underlying hot, convecting mantle underneath is central to our knowledge of plate
tectonics and the very formation and evolution of our planet," Stern said in the
statement.
The study was published online Feb. 5, 2015 in the journal Nature.
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Around the Web
Plate Tectonics: How Do Plates Move? - Windows to the Universe
Understanding plate motions [This Dynamic Earth, USGS]
Plate Tectonics - National Geographic
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Scientists Have Imaged the Base of a Tectonic Plate
Geologists solve the mystery of what tectonic plates float on
Geophysicists blast their way to the bottom of tectonic plates
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