Structure of the Earth discontinuity (a second order discontinuity). The uppermost mantle together with the crust constitutes the lithosphere. The crust-mantle boundary occurs as two physically different events. First, there is a discontinuity in the seismic velocity, which is most commonly known as the Mohorovičić discontinuity or Moho. The cause of the Moho is thought to be a change in rock composition from rocks containing plagioclase feldspar (above) to rocks that contain no feldspars (below). Second, in oceanic crust, there is a chemical discontinuity between ultramafic cumulates and tectonized harzburgites, which has been observed from deep parts of the oceanic crust that have been
Evolution of metal ions in biological systems certain class I ribonucleotide reductases) and in the oxidation of water by photosystem II (PSII), where the production of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances is decreased. This is due to manganese's ability to reduce superoxide anion and hydroxyl radicals as well as its chain-breaking capacity. Iron (Fe) is the most abundant element in the Earth and the fourth most abundant element in the crust, approximately 5 percent by mass. Due to the abundance of iron and its role in biological systems, the transition and mineralogical stages of iron have played a key role in Earth surface systems. It played a larger role