Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth

Mechanics and thermodynamics of (Mg,Fe)O grain boundaries under extreme pressure

In this study, the crystal structure of serpentine (antigorite) was investigated using first-principles calculations under pressure. The results showed that the structure and chemical composition of antigorite changed gradually under high pressure, and it is highly likely that water was released by these structural changes during the subduction process. It was shown that the changes in the modulated structure (polysome) reported in this study may explain the distribution of intermediate-depth earthquakes reported by observations.

Rheology of hexagonal close-packed iron determined by high-pressure and high temperature deformation experiments

A team of researchers understands more about the melting of the Greenland ice sheet. They discovered a flow of hot rocks, known as a mantle plume, rising from the core-mantle boundary beneath central Greenland that melts the ice from below.