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Magma that is extruded as lava is extremely dry, but magma at depth and under great pressure can contain a dissolved water content in excess of 10%. Water is somewhat less soluble in low-silica magma than high-silica magma, so that at 1,100 °C and 0.5 GPa , a basaltic magma can dissolve 8% H 2 O while a granite pegmatite magma can dissolve 11% ...
The asthenosphere (from Ancient Greek ἀσθενός (asthenós) 'without strength') is the mechanically weak [1] and ductile region of the upper mantle of Earth. It lies below the lithosphere, at a depth between ~80 and 200 km (50 and 120 mi) below the surface, and extends as deep as 700 km (430 mi). However, the lower boundary of the ...
The word lava comes from Italian and is probably derived from the Latin word labes, which means a fall or slide. [2] [3] An early use of the word in connection with extrusion of magma from below the surface is found in a short account of the 1737 eruption of Vesuvius, written by Francesco Serao, who described "a flow of fiery lava" as an analogy to the flow of water and mud down the flanks of ...
A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. The process that forms volcanoes is called volcanism. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are diverging or converging, and because most of Earth ...
The internal structure of Earth. Earth's mantle is a layer of silicate rock between the crust and the outer core. It has a mass of 4.01 × 10 24 kg (8.84 × 10 24 lb) and makes up 67% of the mass of Earth. [1] It has a thickness of 2,900 kilometers (1,800 mi) [1] making up about 46% of Earth's radius and 84% of Earth's volume.
The magma immediately below these hot spots is probably about 200 °C (360 °F) hotter, based on surface-to-subsurface temperature differences observed for lava on Earth. A temperature of 1,400 °C (2,550 °F) is thought to indicate the presence of ultramafic magma. [6] [better source needed]
Igneous rock (igneous from Latin igneus 'fiery'), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rocks are formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. The magma can be derived from partial melts of existing rocks in either a planet 's mantle or crust.
The largest values of heat flux coincide with mid-ocean ridges, and the smallest values of heat flux occur in stable continental interiors. Earth's internal heat budget is fundamental to the thermal history of the Earth. The flow heat from Earth's interior to the surface is estimated at 47±2 terawatts (TW) [1] and comes from two main sources ...