Mohorovičić discontinuity (crust-mantle boundary)
Discontinuidad de Mohorovičić (límite corteza-manto)
- Date
- 1909 · confidence high
- Place
- Zagreb, Croatia
- Credited to
- Andrija Mohorovičić
- People
- 👤 Andrija Mohorovičić1857–1936
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
What was discovered
Analysing an earthquake in the Kupa Valley, Mohorovičić detected two sets of waves and deduced an abrupt jump in velocity at about 50 km depth: the boundary between crust and mantle. He defined the crust as a distinct layer.
Coordinates of Zagreb, seat of the meteorological observatory where he worked.
What it led to
- Concept of Earth's crust
- Project Mohole (1961) to drill through it
- Refraction seismology
Built on
- Wiechert seismographs
- Elastic wave theory
Made possible
- Reflection seismology for oil exploration1921
- Deep ocean drilling