(Press-News.org) Contact information: Robert Perkins
perkinsr@usc.edu
213-740-9226
University of Southern California
Atlas Mountains in Morocco are buoyed up by superhot rock, study finds
The Atlas Mountains defy the standard model for mountain structure in which high topography must have deep roots for support, according to a new study from Earth scientists at USC.
In a new model, the researchers show that the mountains are floating on a layer of hot molten rock that flows beneath the region's lithosphere, perhaps all the way from the volcanic Canary Islands, just offshore northwestern Africa.
"Our findings confirm that mountain structures and their formation are far more complex than previously believed," said lead author Meghan Miller, assistant professor of Earth sciences at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.
The study, coauthored by Thorsten Becker, professor of Earth sciences at USC Dornsife, was published by Geology on Jan. 1, 2014 and highlighted by Nature Geoscience.
A well-established model for the Earth's lithosphere suggests that the height of the Earth's crust must be supported by a commensurate depth, much like how a tall iceberg doesn't simply float on the surface of the water but instead rests on a large submerged mass of ice. This property is known as "istostacy."
"The Atlas Mountains are at present out of balance, likely due to a confluence of existing lithospheric strength anomalies and deep mantle dynamics," Becker said.
Miller and Becker used seismometers to measure the thickness of the lithosphere – that is, the Earth's rigid outermost layer – beneath the Altas Mountains in Morocco. By analyzing 67 distant seismic events with 15 seismometers, the team was able to use the Earth's vibrations to "see" into the deep subsurface.
They found that the crust beneath the Atlas Mountains, which rise to an elevation of more than 4,000 meters, reaches a depth of only about 35 km – about 15 km shy of what the traditional model predicts.
"This study shows that deformation can be observed through the entire lithosphere and contributes to mountain building even far away from plate boundaries" Miller said.
Miller's lab is currently conducting further research into the timing and effects of the mountain building on other geological processes.
INFORMATION:
This research was funded by the National Science Foundation, grant EAR-0809023.
Atlas Mountains in Morocco are buoyed up by superhot rock, study finds
2014-01-02
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Trapping insects by color: Will it work in Montana?
2014-01-02
Trapping insects by color: Will it work in Montana?
BOZEMAN, Mont. – Red and green traps attract more sweetpotato weevils than other colors, and a Montana State University researcher who made that discovery wants to know if Montana insects react the same way.
Gadi ...
New cell mechanism discovery key to stopping breast cancer metastasis
2014-01-02
New cell mechanism discovery key to stopping breast cancer metastasis
SALT LAKE CITY—Researchers from Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah discovered a cellular mechanism that drives the spread of breast cancer to other parts of the body (metastasis), ...
Chinese herbal compound relieves inflammatory and neuropathic pain
2014-01-02
Chinese herbal compound relieves inflammatory and neuropathic pain
UCI study also shows novel analgesic to be nonaddictive
Irvine, Calif., Jan. 2, 2014 — A compound derived from a traditional Chinese herbal medicine has been found effective at alleviating pain, ...
The mouse that ROR'ed
2014-01-02
The mouse that ROR'ed
ROR1 oncogene combines with another to accelerate, worsen blood cancer
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report that an oncogene dubbed ROR1, found on chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) B cells ...
New MRI technique illuminates the wrist in motion
2014-01-02
New MRI technique illuminates the wrist in motion
(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — If a picture is worth 1,000 words then a movie is worth far more, especially when it comes to diagnosing wrist problems.
UC Davis radiologists, medical physicists ...
Virginia Tech researchers find novice teen drivers easily fall into distraction, accidents
2014-01-02
Virginia Tech researchers find novice teen drivers easily fall into distraction, accidents
Cell phones, other distractions pose greater threat to teen drivers
Teens may begin their driving habits with great caution, but as months behind the wheel pass, they begin to multi-task ...
Novel noninvasive therapy prevents breast cancer formation in mice
2014-01-02
Novel noninvasive therapy prevents breast cancer formation in mice
Injectable therapy could help people avoid mastectomy
BOSTON – A novel breast-cancer therapy that partially reverses the cancerous state in cultured breast ...
Research into fruit fly cells could lead to cancer insights
2014-01-02
Research into fruit fly cells could lead to cancer insights
New research by scientists at the University of Exeter has shown that cells demonstrate remarkable flexibility and versatility when it comes to how they divide - a finding with potential links ...
Alcohol, tobacco, drug use far higher in severely mentally ill
2014-01-02
Alcohol, tobacco, drug use far higher in severely mentally ill
In the largest ever assessment of substance use among people with severe psychiatric illness, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of Southern ...
Tripling tobacco taxes worldwide would avoid 200 million tobacco deaths
2014-01-02
Tripling tobacco taxes worldwide would avoid 200 million tobacco deaths
Controlling tobacco marketing is also key to helping people quit smoking
TORONTO, Jan. 2, 2014—Tripling taxes on cigarettes around the world would reduce the number of smokers by one-third ...