There are two layers of the earth that are responsible for the earthquakes and volcanic eruptions of the world; the "cool, rigid upper layer, known as the lithosphere (which) rides on top of its warmer, more pliable neighbour, the asthenosphere." A new study by Brown University and MIT graduate students have gathered evidence that, "runs contrary to the prevailing notion that the lithosphere-asthenosphere transition is a gradual one."
The article goes on to say that, "temperature alone cannot define the boundary (and)... that water or a small amount of partly molten rock must also be present in the asthenosphere to cause such an abrupt change in the mechanical strength of the rock."
These new findings are quite controversial. Where do you stand?
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