Matthew Agius, who is undertaking a post-doctorate study at the University of Southampton, has been involved in the Passive Imaging of the Lithosphere and Asthenosphere Boundary (Pilab) project.

The lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary represents the transition from the hot, convecting mantle (asthenosphere) to the overlying cold and rigid lithosphere. Better knowledge of the interaction between these two layers can lead to better understanding of the theory and formation of plate tectonics, and thus on the origins of continents, mountains and ocean basins.

To achieve this, ocean bottom seismic and electro-magnetic instruments have been installed on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge along the equator by the Pilab team and will be left to record for some months.

The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a 16,000-kilometre-long underwater volcanic mountain chain that represents the boundary where the continents on either side are spreading apart at rates of between one and 10cm per year.

The data collected at the ridge will later be used to characterise the Earth’s interior structure.

More details on the project and a blog on the one-month journey to install the instruments can be found at the site below.

https://pilabsoton.wordpress.com