asthenosphere
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See also: asthénosphère
English
Etymology
From Ancient Greek ἀσθενής (asthenḗs, “weak”) + -sphere.
Pronunciation
Noun
asthenosphere (plural asthenospheres)
- (geology) The zone of the Earth's upper mantle, below the lithosphere.
- 2003, Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything, BCA, page 192:
- To say that the lithosphere floats on top of the asthenosphere suggests a degree of easy buoyancy that isn't quite right.
- 2004, Richard Fortey, The Earth, Folio Society, published 2011, page 79:
- The asthenosphere that underlies the surface plates is not liquid in any vernacular sense, although it is relatively plastic.
Derived terms
Translations
the zone of the Earth's upper mantle, below the lithosphere
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