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Subcontinental lithospheric mantle
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<p>The term subcontinental lithosphere mantle is an erroneous term [Stuwe, 2007]. The scientifically correct term is continental lithospheric mantle (CLM), which is the uppermost solid part of <a href="/facts/Earth%2527s_mantle/l9DjRLcc">Earth's mantle</a> associated with continental mantle lithosphere, also known as continental lithospheric mantle that resides below the crust and above the asthenosphere. The term subcontinental lithospheric mantle is incorrect because it implies a continent does not include lithospheric mantle. However, continents are lithospheric and lithosphere includes both crust and mantle lithosphere. </p><p>The modern understanding of the Earth's <a href="/facts/Upper_mantle_(Earth)/5I9jq18K">upper mantle</a> is that there are two distinct components - the <a href="/facts/Lithosphere/1mqaxASd">lithospheric</a> part and the <a href="/facts/Asthenosphere/lXpE97oP">asthenosphere</a>. The lithosphere consists of crust and lithospheric mantle and behaves mostly in a plate-like fashion [Stuwe, 2007] whereas the asthenosphere is hotter and weaker due to the presence of partial melt and mantle convection. The boundary between these two layers is <a href="/facts/Rheology/KexaBNCS">rheologically</a> based and is not necessarily a strict function of depth. Specifically, <a href="/facts/Lithosphere/1mqaxASd">oceanic lithosphere</a> (lithosphere that comprises the oceanic tectonic plates) and continental lithosphere (lithosphere that comprises the continental tectonic plates), are defined as a thermomechanical boundary layer that conducts heat via conduction and the sublithospheric mantle, including the asthenosphere, conducts heat by convection such that the sublithospheric mantle is convecting <a href="/facts/Adiabatic_process/rJj42U5h">adiabatic</a>. In contrast to oceanic lithosphere, which experiences quicker rates of recycling, continental lithosphere is chemically distinct, cold, and older. This difference is translated into the differences between the CLM and the oceanic lithospheric mantle. </p><p>There are two different types of continental lithospheric mantle that formed at different times in Earth's history: <a href="/facts/Archean/PHt8Sm8n">Archaean</a> and <a href="/facts/Phanerozoic/EKKuYnwl">Phanerozoic</a> continental lithospheric mantle. </p>