Mohorovičić discontinuity

American

[moh-haw-roh-vuh-chich dis-kon-tn-oo-i-tee, -hoh-, -yoo-] / ˌmoʊ hɔˈroʊ və tʃɪtʃ ˌdɪs kɒn tnˈu ɪ ti, -hoʊ-, -ˈyu- /

Also Moho

noun

Geology.

the discontinuity between the crust and the mantle of the earth, occurring at depths that average about 22 miles (35 km) beneath the continents and about 6 miles (10 km) beneath the ocean floor.

Mohorovičić discontinuity British

/ ˌməʊhəˈrəʊvɪtʃɪtʃ /

noun

Often shortened to: Moho. the boundary between the earth's crust and mantle, across which there is a sudden change in the velocity of seismic waves

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Mohorovičić discontinuity Scientific

/ mō′hə-rō′və-chĭch /

The boundary between the Earth's crust and mantle, located at an average depth of 8 km (5 mi) under the oceans and 32 km (20 mi) under the continents. The velocity of seismic primary waves across this boundary changes abruptly from 6.7 to 7.2 km (4.1 to 4.5 mi) per second in the lower crust to 7.6 to 8.6 km (4.7 to 5.3 mi) per second in the upper mantle. The boundary is estimated to be between 0.2 and 3 km (0.1 and 1.9 mi) thick and is believed to coincide with a change in rock type from basalts (above) to peridotites and dunites (below). It is named after its discoverer, Croatian seismologist Andrija Mohorovičić (1857–1936).

Etymology

Origin of Mohorovičić discontinuity

1935–40; named after Andrija Mohorovičić (1857–1936), Croatian geophysicist, who discovered it

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The dividing line between the crust and the mantle is called the Mohorovičić discontinuity, or "the Moho."

From Science Daily

It was named after the Mohorovičić discontinuity, or “Moho,” a geophysical boundary defined by a sudden spike in the speed of seismic waves where the crust, a mélange of rocks crystallized out of mantle melt and altered by water, gives way to the more homogeneous mantle.

From Science Magazine

In the 1950s, he was a key player in Project Mohole — an audacious attempt to drill through Earth’s crust to obtain a sample of the mantle at the boundary, the Mohorovičić discontinuity.

From Nature

He had discovered the boundary between the crust and the layer immediately below, the mantle; this zone has been known ever since as the Mohorovičić discontinuity, or Moho for short.

From Literature

Normally, the crust–mantle boundary is thought to be marked by a feature known as the Mohorovičić discontinuity, or ‘Moho’, at which seismic waves change velocity.

From Nature

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023