The asthenosphere is relatively plastic part of the mantle which underlies the brittle lithosphere. In the asthenosphere, it is generally believed that the rocks are in ductile state and easily moves. It is the site of convection within the earth. In mantle convection, hot and light materials rises and keeps moving into upper crustal levels till they solidify. Here also, cold and denser materials sinks deeper till they turn to melt. This differences in temperature and density sets up a convective cell within the mantle. Several convective cells are in the mantle.
