From Flow to Rigidity: Defining Earth's Upper Limit of Viscosity (IMAGE)

Ritsumeikan University

From Flow to Rigidity: Defining Earth's Upper Limit of Viscosity

Caption

A new study integrates geodetic observations, laboratory rock-deformation experiments, and numerical simulations to suggest that the geophysically meaningful upper bound of viscosity is 1030±2 Pa s, marking the transition from deformable flow to effectively rigid behavior over geological timescales.

Credit

Professor Masaki Yoshida from Ritsumeikan University, Japan

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