asthenosphere

See also: asthénosphère

English

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἀσθενής (asthenḗs, weak) + -sphere.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /asˈθɛnə(ʊ)sfɪə/

Noun

asthenosphere (plural asthenospheres)

  1. (geology) The zone of the Earth's upper mantle, below the lithosphere.
    • 2003, Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything, BCA, p. 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 2011, p. 79:
      The asthenosphere that underlies the surface plates is not liquid in any vernacular sense, although it is relatively plastic.

Translations

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