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Seismic reflectors, conductivity,water and stress in the continental crust

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Abstract

The uppermost 10–15 km of the Earth's continental crust differs in several geophysical properties from the lower crust. The upper crust is electrically resistive, seismically transparent, contains nearly all intracontinental earthquake hypocentres and responds to stress elastically, with brittle fracture. The lower crust is electrically conductive, contains many seismic reflectors, is aseismic and shows ductile response to stress. I show here that the characteristics of both regions can be explained if the entire crust contains saline water, in separated cavities in the compressively stressed rocks of the upper crust, but in the lower crust forming an interconnected film on the crystal surfaces. The model may apply principally to technically active parts of the continental crust; beneath shields, the lower crust may be dry.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, T6G2J1

    D. Ian Gough

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  1. D. Ian Gough
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Gough, D. Seismic reflectors, conductivity,water and stress in the continental crust. Nature 323, 143–144 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/323143a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/323143a0

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