Conventional wisdom holds that continental strength relies upon the solidity of rock at a depth of 15km and that below that pressure and heat cause the rock to flow as liquid. Not so fast, say Klaus Regenauer-Lieb, Roberto F Weinberg, and Gideon Rosenbaum. Their new study says that "through dynamic interaction the strongest part becomes the weakest."
It doesn't hurt their case that conventional wisdom always flew in the face of fundamental geological observations.
