asthenosphere

noun

as·​theno·​sphere as-ˈthe-nə-ˌsfir 

: a zone of a celestial body (such as the earth) which lies beneath the lithosphere and within which the material is believed to yield readily to persistent stresses

asthenospheric

as-ˌthe-nə-ˈsfir-ik 

-ˈsfer-

adjective

Examples of asthenosphere in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The mountain range floats like a raft atop the denser liquid rock of the Earth’s interior, called the mantle or the asthenosphere. —Carly Miller, Forbes, 30 Sep. 2024

As a result, the asthenosphere is considered more ductile — or malleable and able to stretch. —Matt Benoit, Discover Magazine, 19 Dec. 2023

The molten rock appeared on seismic readings in areas where the asthenosphere reached its highest temperatures, about 2,640 degrees Fahrenheit (1,450 degrees Celsius). —Ashley Strickland, CNN, 7 Feb. 2023

Pieces of the lithosphere — seven major plates and dozens of microplates — glide ever-so-slowly across the asthenosphere like a puck across an air-hockey table, moved by a combination of thermal convection, gravity and rotational forces. —Jack Feerick, Discover Magazine, 25 Oct. 2020

Schematic model for a partially molten layer in the asthenosphere. —Erik Klemetti, Discover Magazine, 20 Feb. 2023

This layer is a part of the asthenosphere, which sits beneath the tectonic plates. —Ashley Strickland, CNN, 7 Feb. 2023

Beneath that, starting at roughly 100 kilometers deep, is the asthenosphere, where mantle rocks are warm enough to flow like hot taffy. —Alexandra Witze, Discover Magazine, 30 July 2018

Cold, dense oceanic lithosphere sinks below an adjacent, lighter plate, plunging into the hot asthenosphere. —National Geographic, 13 Jan. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Greek asthenḗs "weak" + -o- + -sphere — more at asthenia

Note: The term was introduced by the American geologist Joseph Barrell (1869-1919) in "The strength of the earth's crust. Part VI. Relations of isostatic movements to a sphere of weakness—the asthenosphere," Journal of Geology, vol. 22 (1914), p. 659: "The theory of isostasy shows that below the lithosphere there exists in contradistinction a thick earth-shell marked by a capacity to yield readily to long-enduring strains of limited magnitude …To give proper emphasis and avoid the repetition of descriptive clauses it needs a distinctive name. It may be the generating zone of the pyrosphere; it may be a sphere of unstable state, but this to a large extent is hypothesis and the reason for choosing a name rests upon the definite part it seems to play in crustal dynamics. Its comparative weakness is in that connection its distinctive feature. It may then be called the sphere of weakness—the asthenosphere…"

First Known Use

1914, in the meaning defined above