ETH researchers find last piece of the puzzle for earthquake waves

(CONNECT) A group of researchers led by Motohiko Murakami, Professor of Experimental Mineral Physics at ETH Zurich, has solved the mystery of earthquake waves in the so-called D double prime layer between the Earth's lower mantle and its core, ETH Zurich reports in a press release. The researchers have succeeded in proving that the post-perovskite crystals at a depth of around 2700 kilometers near the D double prime layer align in the same way under enormous pressure and extreme temperatures. As a result, the seismic waves traveling through the earth's mantle are accelerated by leaps and bounds in this area.

The crystals are aligned in rows by slowly flowing mantle rock at the lower edge of the earth's mantle. Murakami and his fellow researchers have been able to prove this experimentally. “We have finally found the last piece of the puzzle,” Murakami is quoted as saying in the press release. “Our discovery shows that the Earth is not only active on the surface, but is also in motion deep inside.”

The geoscientist began solving the mystery of the sudden increase in the speed of earthquake waves at the edge of the Earth's lower mantle back in 2004. Murakami was the first to discover that perovskite transforms into so-called post-perovskite in this area. Murakami has been a professor at ETH since 2017. ce/hs