asthenosphere
See also: asthénosphère
English
[edit]
Etymology
[edit]From Ancient Greek ἀσθενής (asthenḗs, “weak”) + -sphere.
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]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
[edit]Translations
[edit]the zone of the Earth's upper mantle, below the lithosphere
|