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The mantle can be subdivided into the upper and lower mantle.
The uppermost part of the upper mantle is part of the lithosphere, and is sold and rigid. The lower part of the upper mantle is partially molten, and hence can flow.
The lower mantle is solid, but behaves in a plastic fashion, much like blu-tack.
The mantle is predominantly composed of an ultramafic rock called peridotite.
Further Detail:
The Earth's mantle is the largest layer of the Earth by volume accounting for around 84% of the Earth. It is approximately 2885 kilometers thick.
The Earth's mantle is composed of rocks that have higher concentrations of mafic minerals (containing iron and magnesium) and lower in concentrations of the felsic minerals (aluminum and silica) than the rocks of Earth's crust.
The concentrations of the above elements therefore mean that the Earth's mantle is composed of a series of minerals that are predominately calcium / iron / magnesium aluminum silicates.
Such as:
- Olivine - (Mg,Fe)2SiO4
- Pyroxene - X(Si,Al)2O6, where X represents either calcium, sodium, iron or magnesium
- Spinel - MgAl2O4
- Garnet - X3Y2(SiO4)3 where X and Y can be a mixture of aluminum, iron, calcium, manganese or magnesium.
At depths shallower than approximately 460 km, these minerals form the rocks types Peridotite, Dunite (Olivine-rich Peridotite), and Eclogite.
At depths greater than 410 km Olivine becomes unstable and is replaced by a number of different mineral forms known as poly-morphs which are stable at higher pressures. These include Wadsleyite which forms at depths between 410 and 520 km and Ringwoodite which forms between 520 and 600 km deep.
These depths are based on a number of seismic dicontinuities at the depths of 410 km (thought to mark the transition from Olivine to Wadsleyite) and at 520 km (thought to mark the transition from Wadsleyite to Ringwoodite) respectively.
At depths greater than around 650 km these upper mantle minerals start to become unstable due to the increased pressure and the minerals below this take the structure of the minerals Perovskite and Ferropericlase although with differing chemical compositions and it is this seismic discontinuity at 650 km depth that marks the transition to the lower mantle.
Its heat comes from left over radiation from the Earth's creation.
It is more denser than the crust. not
It contains more iron than silica.
It is 1800 miles thick and makes up more than two thirds of earts mass
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∙ 6y ago
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∙ 7y agoOne of the most significant events that takes place in the mantle is the heat transfer in the form of convection cells. In other words, heat (generated by the core) circulates throughout the mantle and that drives the movement of the tectonic plates.
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∙ 10y agothe temperature of the mantle can range up to 500 to 900 o C
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∙ 11y agoThe planet Earth has only one mantle. The mantle moves the crust, very slowly, causing continental drift.
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∙ 11y agoThe convection currents (water currents) move the tectonic plates causing the mantle to move inside the earth
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∙ 8y agoThe crust, on which we live, moves (floats) as tectonic plates over the semi-molten mantle.
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∙ 15y agoThe crust and attached rocky uppermost mantle float on the asthenosphere.
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∙ 11y agoThe core Heats up and makes Lava
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∙ 9y agoearths mantle is circulated by?
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∙ 10y agoPluto
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Which layer of the earths layer has melted rock that moves like a thick liquid?
mantle
What Produced as a plate moves deeper into the mantle?
an earthquake
What sections moves on a plasticlike layer of the mantle?
lithosphere.
Which force drives subduction?
An undersea mountain chain where new ocean floor is produced
What moves up the earths surface in a pipe?
magma moves up earth suface
Where does magma form before it moves toward the earths surface?
in the mantle above the slab
Which layer of the earths layer has melted rock that moves like a thick liquid?
mantle
How is heat transfer in the earths mantle related to the movement of the earths crust?
The heat transfer is moved to the crust. The earth's crust moves to the inner core
What part of the earths mantle that flows and moves the plates of the earth?
Mantle plumes are in the mantle, BELOW the Earth's crust. The circulation of heat from the lower mantle to the upper mantle can cause "hot spots" in the overlying crust, heating the magma in the areas.
What is the mechanical layer of earths that is solid rock and moves the least?
mesosphere
What happens to old oceanic crust as molten materials rises from the mantle?
The older oceanic crust moves away from the spreading center and is eventualy subducted back into the mantle.
What moves on a plasticlike layer of the mantle?
The crust moves on a plastic like layer of the mantle.
What moves a plasticlike layer of the mantle?
The crust moves on a plastic like layer of the mantle.
Why the mantle moves?
It moves because of convection currents
What is the movement of Earth materials through the mantle and toward the crust due to heat transfer an example of?
It is an example of heat transfer by convection. Material heated by the outer core slowly moves toward the surface through the solid but plastically-mobile mantle.
Which earth layer is like plastic and moves slowly?
The asthenosphere is considered to be made up of plastic materials and flows about 15 cm per year. The asthenosphere is the lower mantle.
What moves Earth's tetonic plates?
the upper mantle
