Bruce Marsh's magmatic mush column theory of crustal formation

EARTH SCIENCE: THE SCULPTING of the EARTH'S CRUST

The objective of this work is to review the article entitled: "Magma P.I. 'Unearths Clues to How Earth's Crust Was Sculpted" published December 14, 2007 online the website 'Science Daily'.

The article entitled: "Magma P.I. 'Unearths Clues to How Earth's Crust Was Sculpted" published online the Science Daily website December 14, 2007 relates the work of John Hopkins University geologist Bruce Marsh who is stated to have "challenged the century-old concept that the Earth's outer layer formed when crystal-free molten rock called magma oozed to the surface from giant subterranean chambers hidden beneath volcanoes." (Science Daily, 2007)

MARSH'S THEORY

Bruce Marsh has posited that the "deep-seated plumbing underneath volcanoes" is actually comprised of a system that is extensive in nature of "smaller sheet-like chambers vertically connected with each other and transporting a crystal laden 'magnetic mush' to the surface" and is a theory that is becoming accepted widely among scientists. This type of system has been termed a "magmatic mush column" and said to exist "beneath all of the world's major volcanic centers. It is held by Marsh that these channels, instead of simply transporting the magma and crystals needed in formation of the surface of the Earth involves a process in which the magma is pushed up through the earth and in doing so the earth's crust became fractured creating a type of "template" which guides erosion and sculpting that occurs in formation of "a series of valleys and mountain ranges..." (Science Daily, 2007)

DISCUSSION

Marsh has opened the view of science in relation to how the earth's crust was indeed formed and has chosen an ideal location for making a study of the issue presented in the foregoing article relating to magmatic formation of the crust of the earth. This study is likely to open even more scientific views in other studies relating to earth formation science and geological study. It will be of great interest to science as well as adding great value to scientific knowledge to become informed along with these studies as they progress and are reported by Marsh and colleagues