answersLogoWhite

0

The mechanically weak portion of the upper mantle of the Earth from 45-155 mi. (72-250 km) down, also called the Low Velocity Zone as its squishiness slows soundwaves from earthquakes.

User Avatar

Wiki User

13y ago

What else can I help you with?

Continue Learning about Earth Science

What layer moves underneath the techtonic plates?

The aesthenosphere, which is located in the top part of the Earth's mantle is the layer lying underneath the tectonic plates. Collective movement in these plates cause a gradual rise in the aesthenosphere, thereby resulting to land elevation.


where is the continental crust?

Below your feet as you read this - unless you're on board a ship on the ocean! The Continental Crust is the foundation rock for the continents, and is usually covered to a greater of less depths by sedimentary rocks and drift deposits. In turn it floats on the Aesthenosphere, the outer layer of the Mantle.


Where is the asthenosphere located on earth?

The Earth's asthenosphere starts at depths of around 100 to 200 km below the surface and extends down to around 700 km. This is part of the upper mantle.Directly below the lithosphere. The asthenosphere is located between 100-350 km below the surface of the Earth. The Asthenosphere is a ductile yet solid layer located inthe upper mantle.in the upper mantle


What are underwater earthquakes?

Seismologists investigating undersea earthquakes have found that molten rock lubricates faults. This decreases the amount of friction between sides of the fault and decreases the intensity of earthquakes. They also found that the fragmentation of fault lines along the seafloor contributes an earthquake-dampening effect.+++I think you've mis-read your source. The earthquakes are undersea because they are on the subduction thrust plane between a sinking ocean-floor plate and the continent above it, under the continental shelf. The lubricant is not molten rock but wet sea-floor sediment, but the friction does help the Aesthenosphere heat partially the subducting basalt, with the water also acting a flux to help the melting.


Related Questions

What does the lithospheric plates move on?

Aesthenosphere


Why is the magma moving under the lithosphere?

Magma moves under the lithosphere because the aesthenosphere (and magma) are ductile - they act as a fluid, although a very viscous one, and they do flow. The viscosity of a magma depends on its mineral composition. Magma will move in convection currents throughout the aesthenosphere due to the heating and cooling of it as it travels throughout the aesthenosphere.


What rests on the astheosphere?

The Lithosphere Floats on top of the asthenosphere because it is less dense.


Is the mantle part of the asthenosphere?

Yes, the aesthenosphere is the part of the upper mantle that is highly viscous and mechanically weak behaving as a ductile solid.


How is the theory of plate tectonics related to the radioactive decay elements within the earth's interior?

The aesthenosphere is kept deformable largely through heat generated by radioactive decay


What layer moves underneath the techtonic plates?

The aesthenosphere, which is located in the top part of the Earth's mantle is the layer lying underneath the tectonic plates. Collective movement in these plates cause a gradual rise in the aesthenosphere, thereby resulting to land elevation.


What is the litospher?

I think you mean Lithosphere. the lithosphere is the top solid crust portion of planet Earth. it consists of the Ocean floor and Continents. Below the lithosphere is the aesthenosphere. Which begins to get very hot.


Explain how plate tectnonics and why they occur?

Lithospheric plates made up of the upper mantle and crust float on the soft, flowing aesthenosphereand are moved around by the flow of the aesthenosphere caused by convection from the core.


Is the lithosphere stronger than the Aesthenosphere?

Yes, the lithosphere is stronger and more rigid than the asthenosphere. The lithosphere is composed of the crust and upper part of the mantle and is responsible for the movement of tectonic plates, while the asthenosphere is a semi-rigid layer below the lithosphere that allows for plate movement due to its partially molten nature.


What would happen if the plates under the aesthenosphere stopped moving?

The asthenosphere lies below the lithosphere and the oceanic crust. If oceanic-continental convergence was to cease (unlikely as to the enormous momentum involved) subduction would presumable lessen and, as the momentum of one plate against another stopped moving, an equilibrium state would presumably exist.


What is the definition of continental crust?

The definition of continental crust would be the top crust that Is the first layer of crust made of rock and is the thinest layer +++ Is this in the correct category? The continental crust is that forming the bulk of the continents, primarily granite, and thicker than the basalt ocean-floor crust. Both float on the thinner aesthenosphere, the top layer of the Mantle which forms the planet's bulk.


Which layer of the earth contains the tectonic plates?

The plates are part of the crust, the upper layer of the Earth. The plates are moved by currents in the upper mantle. The plates and flexible upper mantle are referred to collectively as the lithosphere and sit atop the mantle layer called the aesthenosphere.