What is "asthenosphere"

asthenosphere \asthenosphere\ n. 1. the lower layer of the earth's crust, below the lithosphere. It is estimated as from fifty to several hundred miles thick. It is less rigid than the lithosphere, but still rigid enough to transmit some transverse seismic waves.
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layer of the Earth's upper mantle, 1914, from Greek asthenos (see asthenia) + sphere.\n

n. (context geology English) The zone of the Earth's upper mantle, below the lithosphere.

n. the lower layer of the crust

The asthenosphere (from Greek ἀσθενής asthenḗs 'weak' + "sphere") 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 below the surface. The Lithosphere-Asthenosphere boundary is usually referred to as LAB. The asthenosphere is generally solid, although some of its regions could be melted (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. In some regions the asthenosphere could extend as deep as . It is considered the source region of mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB).