Mantle keels

Plate tectonics determines how the surface of the Earth is shaped over geological time; however, we do not know how this process started. New research by a group of geoscientists demonstrates that diamonds can be used to reveal how a buoyant section of mantle beneath some of the continents became thick enough to provide long term stability. 

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Deep mantle fluid

The water content of Earth’s mantle is a key measurement of Earth’s water budget. Global recycling of water on Earth drives important forms of volcanism such as island arcs, controls the flow of upper-mantle fluid and plays a role in the evolution of mantle plumes.

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Rio Grande rift study

Rocks from the Rio Grande continental rift have revealed new evidence for how continents remain stable over billions of years. A Continental rift is the belt or zone of the continental lithosphere where the extensional deformation (rifting) is occurring. These zones have important consequences and geological features, and can lead to the formation of new ocean basins.

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Cratons fused below

Billions of years of plate tectonics have destroyed much of what was the earliest continents. The parts of the continents that remain have survived because their composition makes them buoyant and strong. These blocks known as cratons were thought to be indefinitely stable are now thought to not only break up but can also be fused back together again.

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