Abstract
THE evolution of a lithospheric plate, as it migrates away from the accreting boundary (mid-ocean ridge crest), is mostly a result of vertical cooling by conduction. As density is a function of temperature and pressure, the density structure should be a function of the age of the plate and, in order to preserve isostatic equilibrium, the seafloor should subside as the plate cools1. Thus, the variation of heat flow, seafloor depth and the gravity field are different expressions of the same process, progressive cooling, occurring over the whole thickness of the plate. Sclater and Francheteau2 have verified these properties through an analysis of the variation of heat flow and depth with the age of the plate. Their model assumed that the plate remains a constant thickness and is floating in hydrostatic equilibrium over the asthenosphere. This led to an estimate of 75 km for the thickness of the plate.
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SIBUET, JC., LE PICHON, X. & GOSLIN, J. Thickness of lithosphere deduced from gravity edge effects across the Mendocino Fault. Nature 252, 676–679 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1038/252676a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/252676a0
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