define asthenosphere
Answers
The asthenosphere is the layer of the Earth that lies below the lithosphere. It is a layer of solid rock that has so much pressure and heat the rocks can flow like a liquid. The rocks are less dense than the rocks in the lithosphere. This allows the tectonic plates in the lithosphere to move around on the Earth's surface by "floating" on the rocks that are slowly flowing like a liquid.
Answer:
The asthenosphere is the highly viscous, mechanically weak and ductilely deforming region of the upper mantle of the Earth. It lies below the lithosphere, at depths between approximately 80 and 200 km (50 and 120 miles) below the surface. The Lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary is usually referred to as LAB. The asthenosphere is almost solid, although some of its regions could be molten (e.g., below mid-ocean ridges). The lower boundary of the asthenosphere is not well defined. The thickness of the asthenosphere depends mainly on the temperature. However, the rheology of the asthenosphere also depends on the rate of deformation, which suggests that the asthenosphere could be also formed as a result of a high rate of deformation. In some regions the asthenosphere could extend as deep as 700 km (430 mi). It is considered the source region of mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB).