Abstract
The Canary Islands geoid anomaly shows only a short-wavelength high associated with island topography. The predicted anomaly best matches the observed geoid when we assume that the lithosphere is a very stiff plate. We find no evidence for shallow reheating or a mantle plume, since there is no evidence of a midplate swell and the corresponding elastic thickness is appropriate for the age of the seafloor on which the island group rests.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abdel-MonemA., WatkinsN. D., and GastP. W., 1967, Volcanic History of the Canary Islands, Am. Geophys. Union Trans., 48, 226–227.
Abdel-MonemA., WatkinsN. D., and GastP. W., 1971, Volcanic Stratigraphy and Geomagnetic Polarity History of the Canary Islands: Lanzarote-Fuerteventura-Gran Canaria-Gomera, Am. J. Sci. 271, 490–521.
Abdel-MonemA., WatkinsN. D., and GastP. W., 1972, Volcanic Stratigraphy and Geomagnetic Polarity History of the Canary Islands: Tenerife-La Palma-Hierro, Am. J. Sci. 272, 805–825.
BosshardE. and MacFarlaneD. J., 1970, Crustal Structure of the Western Canary Islands from Seismic Refraction and Gravity Data, J. Geophys. Res. 75, 4901–4918.
CalmantS., 1987, The Elastic Thickness of the Lithosphere in the Pacific Ocean, Earth and Plan. Sci. Lett. 85, 277–288.
CazenaveA. B., LagoB., DominhK., and LambeckK., 1980, On the Response of the Ocean Lithosphere to Seamount Loads from GEOS-3 Satellite Radar Altimetry Observations, Geophys. J. R. Astr. Soc. 63, 233–254.
CourtneyR. C. and WhiteR. S., 1986, Anomalous Heat Flow across the Cape Verde Rise: Evidence for a Thermal Plume in the Earth's Mantle, Geophys. J. R. Astr. Soc. 87, 815–869.
CroughS. T., 1978, Thermal Origin of Mid-Plate Hot-Spot Swells, Geophys. J. R. Astr. Soc. 55, 451–469.
CroughS. T., 1983, The Correction for Sediment Loading on the Seafloor, J. Geophys. Res. 88, 6449–6454.
DetrickR. S. and CroughS. T., 1978, Island Subsidence, Hotspots, and Lithospheric Thinning, J. Geophys. Res. 83, 1236–1244.
DetrickR. S., VonHerzenR. P., ParsonsB. Eaton, SandwellD., and DoughertyM., 1986, Heat Flow Observations on the Bermuda Rise and Thermal Models of Midplate Swells, J. Geophys. Res. 91, 3701–3723.
FischerK., McNuttM. K., and ShureL., 1986, Thermal and Mechanical Constraints on the Lithosphere Beneath the Marquesas Swell, Nature 322, 733–736.
Harland, W. B., Cox, A. V., Llewellyn, P. G. Pickton, C. A. G., and Smith, A. G., 1982, A Geologic Time Scale, Cambridge Earth Science Series, Cambridge University Press.
Hausen, H., 1956, Fuerteventura: Some Geological and Geomorphological Aspects of the Oldland of the Canarian Archipelago, Soc. Geogr. Fennica, Acta Geogr. 15, no. 2, 47pp.
Hausen, H., 1962, New Contributions to the Geology of Gran Canaria, Soc. Sci. Fennica, Commentat. Phys. Math. 27, no. 1, 418pp.
Hayes, D. E., Rabinowitz, P. D., and Hinz, K. (eds.), 1984, Northwest African Continental Margin and Adjacent Ocean Floor of Morocco, Atlas 12, Ocean Margin Drilling Program, Regional Atlas Series: Marine Science International, Woods Hole, MA.
LambeckK., 1981, Flexure of the Oceanic Lithosphere from Island Uplift, Bathymetry, and Geoid Height Observations: The Society Islands, Geophys. J. R. Astr. Soc., 67, 91–114.
MarshJ. G., BrennerA. C., BeckleyB. D., and MartinT. V., 1986, Global Mean Sea Surface Based upon SEASAT Altimeter Data, J. Geophys. Res. 91, 3501–3506.
MatthewsD. J., 1939, Tables of the Velocity of Sound in Pure Water and Sea Water, Hydrographic Department: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London.
McNuttM. K., 1984, Lithospheric Flexure and Thermal Anomalies, J. Geophys. Res. 89, 11,180–11,194.
McNuttM. K., 1987, Temperature beneath Midplate Swells: The Inverse Problem, in KeatingB. H., FryerP., BatizaR., and BoehlertG. W., (eds.), Seamounts, Islands, and Atolls, Geophysical Monograph 43, American Geophysical Union, Washington, D.C., pp. 123–132.
McNuttM. K., 1988, Thermal and Mechanical Properties of the Cape Verde Rise, J. Geophys. Res. 93, 2784–2794.
McNuttM. K. and MenardH. W., 1978, Lithospheric Flexure and Uplifted Atolls, J. Geophys. Res. 83, 1206–1212.
McNuttM. K. and ShureL., 1986, Estimating the Compensation Depth of the Hawaiian Swell with Linear Filters, J. Geophys. Res. 91, 13,915–13,923.
MenardH. W. and McNuttM. K., 1982, Evidence for, and Consequences of Thermal Rejuvenation, J. Geophys. Res. 87, 8570–8580.
MinisterJ. B. and JordanT. H., 1980, Present Day Plate Motions: A Summary, in C. J.Allègre (ed.), Source Mechanisms and Earthquake Prediction, Editions du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris, pp. 109–124.
Mitchell-ThoméR. C., 1976, Geology of the Middle Atlantic Islands, Belträge zur Regionalen der Erde, Gebrüder Bornträger, Berlin.
MorganW. J., 1972, Deep Mantle Convection Plumes and Plate Motions, Am. Assoc. Petrol. Geol. 56, 203–213.
MorganW. J., 1981, Hotspot Tracks and the Opening of the Atlantic and the Indian Oceans, in C.Emiliani (ed), The Sea, John Wiley and Sons, New York, pp. 443–487.
ParsonsB. Eaton, and SclaterJ. G., 1977, An Analysis of the Variation of Ocean Floor Bathymetry and Heat Flow with Age, J. Geophys. Res. 82, 803–827.
ParsonsB. Eaton and RichterF. M., 1980, A Relation between the Driving Force and Geoid Anomaly Associated with Mid-Ocean Ridges, Earth and Plan. Sci. Lett. 51, 445–450.
ParsonsB. Eaton, and DalyS., 1983, The Relationship between Surface Topography, Gravity Anomalies, and the Temperature Structure of Convection, J. Geophys. Res., 88, 1129–1144.
RobinsonE. M., ParsonsB. Eaton, and DalyS., 1987, The Effect of a Shallow Low-viscosity Zone on the Apparent Compensation Depth of Mid-Plate Swells, Earth and Planet. Sci. Lett. 82, 335–348.
RotheP. and SchminckeH. U., 1968, Contrasting Origins of the Eastern and Western Islands of the Canarian Archipelago, Nature 218, 1152–1154.
SandwellD. T., 1982, Thermal Isostasy: Response of a Moving Lithosphere to a Distributed Heat Source, J. Geophys. Res. 87 1001–1014.
SclaterJ. G., ParsonsB. Eaton, and JaupartC., 1981, Oceans and Continents: Similarities and Differences in Mechanisms of Heat Loss, J. Geophys. Res. 86, 11,180–11,194.
SheehanA. and McNuttM. K., 1987, Constraints on Thermal Structure of the Bermuda Rise from Geoid Height and Depth Anomalies (abstract), Eos Trans. AGU 68, 410.
VanWyckhouseR., 1973, SYNBAPS (Synthetic Bathymetric Prefiling System), Technical Report, TR-233, Naval Oceanographic Office, Washington, D.C.
WattsA. B., 1978, An Analysis of Isostasy in the World's Oceans, 1, Hawaiian-Emperor Seamount Chain, J. Geophys. Res. 83, 5989–6004.
WattsA. B. and RibeN. M., 1984, On Geoid Heights and Flexure of the Lithosphere at Seamounts, J. Geophys. Res. 89, 11,152–11,170.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Filmer, P.E., McNutt, M.K. Geoid anomalies over the Canary Islands Group. Mar Geophys Res 11, 77–87 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00285659
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00285659