The boundary between Earth’s rigid lithosphere and ductile asthenosphere is marked by a seismic discontinuity. Laboratory experiments on basaltic magmas show that melts should pond at pressures that correspond to the lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary. Thus, magma ponding could explain the observed seismic discontinuity.
- Tatsuya Sakamaki
- Akio Suzuki
- Maxim D. Ballmer
