Water is no lubricant

Reassessment of the role of water in plate tectonics

2013-06-13

(Press-News.org) Water in the Earth's crust and upper mantle may not play such an important role as a lubricant of plate tectonics as previously assumed. This is a result geoscientists present in the current issue of the scientific journal Nature (13/06/2013) after the examination of water in the mineral olivine.

Laboratory experiments over the past three decades have suggested the presence of water greatly weakens the mechanical strength of the mineral olivine, a key component of the Earth's upper mantle. In a recent study led by the Bayerisches Geoinstitut in Bayreuth, the Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometer (SIMS) facility at the Potsdam based GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences was used to reassess the importance of water in defining the rigidity of olivine. While earlier studies were based on mineral aggregates, the SIMS method enabled a look at the role of water in single olivine crystals at the near-atomic scale. Michael Wiedenbeck, who conducted the SIMS experiment at the GFZ: "We discovered that water has a much, much lower effect in terms of the mechanical weakening of olivine as previously believed. The new observations call for a reassessment of the role of water within the Earth's interior." One important consequence is that the earlier concept, indicating that water provides lubrication for continental drift, needs to be carefully reconsidered. ### Hongzhan Fei, Michael Wiedenbeck, Daisuke Yamazaki & Tomoo Katsura - Small effect of water on upper-mantle rheology based on silicon self-diffusion coefficients DOI: 10.1038/nature12193; vol 498; issue 7453; pp. 213-215

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2013-06-13

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2013-06-13

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Fingernails reveal clues to limb regeneration

2013-06-13

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Low birth weight could be a risk factor for age-related vision loss: UAlberta medical research

2013-06-13

Medical researchers at the University of Alberta recently published their findings that rats with restricted growth in the womb, causing low birth weights when born, were most susceptible to developing age-related vision loss, compared to their normal weight counterparts. The research team members say additional work needs to be done to see if this same link exists in people, and if it does, doctors will need to better monitor vision concerns in adults who were born with a low birth weight. "The consequence of our findings is that we are providing evidence for the need ...

Livermore develops the world's deepest ert imaging system for CO2 sequestration

2013-06-13

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Research shows male guppies reproduce even after death

2013-06-13

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2013-06-13

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Study helps managers identify regions with multiple threat potential, including wildfires

2013-06-13

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Scripps Research Institute team points to brain's 'dark side' as key to cocaine addiction

2013-06-13

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Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) launches a second funding opportunity to accelerate novel tool development to advance Parkinson's disease research

Water is no lubricant

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