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1.
We have obtained a suite of 42 closely spaced, acoustically navigated, heat flow measurements on well-sedimented crust of anomaly M0 age (109 Ma) in the northwest Atlantic Ocean (25°N, 68°W; 950 km south of Bermuda). The mean and standard deviation of the values obtained are 1.13 HFU (μcal/cm2 s) (47.3 mW/m2) and 0.05 HFU (2.1 mW/m2), respectively. Some of the variability is accounted for by refractive effects of the basement topography. Drill core data and our modelling suggest that the thermal conductivity contrast between sediments and basement rocks in this region is less than a factor of 1.6. The mean heat flow is close to the 1.1 HFU (46 mW/m2) predicted by both the plate and boundary layer cooling models of the oceanic lithosphere. This is the first detailed comparison with theoretical cooling models on old Atlantic Ocean crust. Since the difference in surface heat flow (0.15 HFU) predicted by the two cooling models for the oldest observed oceanic lithosphere (180 Ma) is also not much larger than the range of uncertainty in our observations, discrimination between the two models on the basis of surface heat flow data alone may prove difficult.  相似文献   

2.
Recent advances in the measurement and interpretation of geoid height anomalies provide a new way to estimate the thickness of the oceanic lithosphere as a function of crustal age. GEOS-III satellite altimetry measurements show abrupt changes in sea level across fracture zones which separate areas of lithosphere with different ages. These changes have the correct location, amplitude, and wavelength to be caused by the combined gravitational attraction of the relief across the fracture zone and the isostatic support of this relief. Eight profiles of geoid height and bathymetry across the Mendocino fracture zone are inverted to determine the depth of the isostatic compensation, assuming that the compensation occurs in a single layer. These depths are then interpreted with a thermal boundary layer model of lithospheric growth. To explain satisfactorily the geoid measurements, the thermal diffusivity of the upper mantle must be 3.3 × 10?3 cm2 s?1 and the thickness of the lithosphere, defined as the depth at which the geotherm reaches 95% of its maximum value, must be9.1km m.y.?1/2 × t1/2, where t is lithospheric age.  相似文献   

3.
Based on the data of geo-temperature and thermophysical parameters of rocks in the Kuqa Depression and the Tabei Uplift, northern flank of the Tarim Basin, in terms of the analytical solution of 1-D heat transfer equation, the thermal structure of the lithosphere under this region is determined. Our results show that the average surface heat flow of the northern flank of the Tarim Basin is 45 mW/m2, and the mantle heat flow is between 20 and 23 mW/m2; the temperature at crust-mantle boundary (Moho) ranges from 514℃ to 603℃ and the thermal lithosphere where the heat conduction dominates is 138-182 km thick. Furthermore, in combination with the P wave velocity structure resulting from the deep seismic sounding profile across this region and rheological modeling, we have studied the local composition of the lithosphere and its rheological profile, as well as the strength distribution. We find that the rheological stratification of the lithosphere in this region is apparent. The lowermost of the lower crust is ductile; however,the uppermost of the mantle and the upper and middle parts of the crust are both brittle layers,which is typically the so-called sandwich-like structure. Lithospheric strength is also characterized by the lateral variation, and the uplift region is stronger than the depression region. The lithospheric strength of the northem flank of the Tarim Basin decreases gradually from south to north; the Kuqa Depression has the lowest strength and the south of the Tabei Uplift is strongest.The total lithospheric strength of this region is 4.77× 1012-5.03 × 1013 N/m under extension, and 6.5 × 1012-9.4× 1013 N/m under compression. The lithospheric brittle-ductile transition depth is between 20 km and 33 km. In conclusion, the lithosphere of the northern flank of the Tarim Basin is relatively cold with higher strength, so it behaves rigidly and deforms as a whole, which is also supported by the seismic activity in this region. This rigidity of the Tarim lithosphere makes it little deform interior, but only into flexure under the sedimentation and tectonic loading associated with the rapid uplift of the Tianshan at its northern margin during the Indian-Eurasian continental collision following the Late Eocene. Finally, the influences of factors, such as heat flow, temperature,crustal thickness, and especially basin sediment thickness, on the lithospheric strength are discussed here.  相似文献   

4.
The tectonic stresses can significantly affect the propagation of a magma-filled crack. It has been pointed out that the rheological boundaries control the emplacement of magmas through the effect of stress. However, it has not been clarified how the role of rheological boundaries depends on the regional tectonic and thermal states. We have evaluated the role of rheological boundaries under various tectonic and thermal conditions and found that the level of magma emplacement may jump according to the changes in the tectonic force or the surface heat flow. The stress profiles were estimated by a simple model of lithospheric deformation. We employed a three-layer model of the lithosphere; the upper crust, the lower crust and the upper mantle have different rheological properties. A constant horizontal force is applied to the lithosphere, and the horizontal strain is assumed to be independent of depth. When realistic tectonic forces (>1011 N/m) are applied, the rheological boundaries mainly control the emplacement of magma. The emplacement is expected at the MOHO, the upper–lower crust boundary, and the brittle–ductile boundary. For lower tectonic forces (<1011 N/m), the tectonic stress no longer plays an important role in the emplacement of magmas. When the tectonic stress controls the emplacement, the roles of rheological boundaries strongly depend on the surface heat flow. When the surface heat flow is relatively high (>80 mW/m2), the stress in the mantle is quite low and the MOHO cannot trap ascending magmas. For relatively low heat flow (<80 mW/m2), on the other hand, the MOHO acts as a magma trap, and the upper–lower crust boundary acts as a magma trap only when the magma supply rate is sufficiently high. Our results suggest that the emplacement depth can change responding to the change in the tectonic force and/or that in the surface heat flow. This may provide us a key to understand the relation between the evolution of a volcanic region and its tectonic and/or thermal history.  相似文献   

5.
Melt generation and extraction along the Hawaiian volcanic chain should be largely controlled by the thermal structure of the Hawaiian swell and the heat source underneath it. We simulate numerically the time- and space-dependent evolution of Hawaiian volcanism in the framework of thermal evolution of the Hawaiian swell, constrained by residual topography, geoid anomalies, and anomalous heat flow along the Hawaiian volcanic chain. The transient heat transfer problem with melting relationships and variable boundary conditions is solved in cylindrical coordinates using a finite difference method. The model requires the lithosphere to be thinned mechanically by mantle plume flow. Melting starts quickly near the base of the plate when the hotspot is encountered. Thermal perturbation and partial melting are largely concentrated in the region where the original lithosphere is thinned and replaced by the mantle flow. The pre-shield Loihi alkalic and tholeiitic basalts are from similar sources, which are a mixture of at least three mantle components: the mantle plume, asthenosphere, and the lower lithosphere. The degree of partial melting averages 10–20%, with a peak value of 30% near the plume center. As a result of continuous compaction, melts are extracted from an active partial melting zone of about 10–20 km thickness, which moves upwards and laterally as the heating and compaction proceed. The rate of melt extraction from the swell increases rapidly to a maximum value of 1 × 105 km3/m.y. over the center of the heat source, corresponding to eruption of large amounts of tholeiitic lavas during the shield-building stage. This volume rate is adequate to account for the observed thickness of the Hawaiian volcanic ridge. Melts from direct partial melting of the mantle plume at depth may be important or even dominant at this stage, although the amount is uncertain. At the waning stage, mixing of melts from the mantle flow pattern with those from low-degree partial melting of the lithosphere may produce postshield alkalic basalts. After the plate moves off the heat source, continuous conductive heating can cause very low degree partial melting (less than 1%) of the lithosphere at shallow depths for about one million years. This process may be responsible for producing post-erosional alkalic basalts. The extraction time for removing such small amount of melts is about 0.4–2 m.y., similar to the time gap between the eruption of post-erosional alkalic lavas and the shield-building stage. Our results show that multi-stage Hawaiian volcanism and the general geochemical characteristics of Hawaiian basalts can be explained by a model of plume-plate interaction.  相似文献   

6.
The eastern Pontides orogenic belt is one of the most complex geodynamic settings in the Alpine–Himalayan belt due to the lack of systematical geological and geophysical data. In this study, 1D crustal structure and P-wave velocity distribution obtained from gravity modeling and seismological data in the area has been used for the development of the thermal model of the eastern Pontides orogenic belt. The computed temperature-depth profiles suggest a temperature of 590?±?60°C at a Moho depth of 35?km indicates the presence of a brittle-ductile transition zone. This temperature value might be related to water in the subducted crust of the Tethys oceanic lithosphere. The Curie temperature depth value of 29?km, which may correspond to the crustal magma chambers, is found 5–7?km below the Moho depth. Surface heat flow density values vary from 66.5 and 104.7?mW?m?2. High mantle heat flow density value of 48?mW?m?2 is obtained for the area should be related to melting of the lithospheric mantle caused by upwelling of asthenosphere.  相似文献   

7.
We propose a thermal model of the subducting Ionian microplate. The slab sinks in an isothermal mantle, and for the boundary conditions we take into account the relation between the maximum depth of seismicity and the thermal parameter Lth of the slab, which is a product of the age of the subducted lithosphere and the vertical component of the convergence rate. The surface heat-flux dataset of the Ionian Sea is reviewed, and a convective geotherm is calculated in its undeformed part for a surface heat flux of 42 mW m–2, an adiabatic gradient of 0.6 mK m–1, a mantle kinematic viscosity of 1017 m2 s–1 and an asthenosphere potential temperature of 1300°C. The calculated temperature-depth distribution compared to the mantle melting temperature indicates the decoupling limit between lithosphere and asthenosphere occurs at a depth of 105 km and a temperature of 1260°C. A 70–km thick mechanical boundary layer is found. By considering that the maximum depth of the seismic events within the slab is 600 km, a Lth of 4725 km is inferred. For a subduction rate equal to the spreading rate, the corresponding assimilation and cooling times of the microplate are about 7 and 90 Myr, respectively. The thermal model assumes that the mantle flow above the slab is parallel and equal to the subducting plate velocity of 6 cm yr–1, and ignores the heat conduction down the slab dip. The critical temperature, above which the subduced lithosphere cannot sustain the stress necessary to produce seismicity, is determined from the thermal conditions governing the rheology of the plate. The minimum potential temperature at the depth of the deepest earthquake in the slab is 730°C.  相似文献   

8.
A detailed aeromagnetic anomaly map of the Mesozoic seafloor-spreading lineations southwest of Bermuda reveals the dominant magnetic grain of the oceanic crust and the character of the accreting boundary at the time of crustal formation. The magnetic anomaly pattern is that of a series of elongate lobes perpendicular to the fracture zone (flowline) trends. The linear sets of magnetic anomaly peaks and troughs have narrow regions of reduced amplitude anomalies associated with the fracture zones. During the period of Mesozoic geomagnetic polarity reversals (when 1200 km of central North Atlantic seafloor formed), the Atlantic accreting boundary consisted of stationary, elongate, spreading center cells that maintained their independence even though sometimes only minor spatial offsets existed between cells. Normal oceanic crustal structure was formed in the spreading center cells, but structural anomalies and discontinuities characteristic of fracture zones were formed at their boundaries, which parallel flowlines of Mesozoic relative plate motion in the central North Atlantic. We suggest that the memory for a stationary pattern of independent spreading center cells resides in the young brittle lithosphere at the accreting boundary where the lithosphere is weakest; here, each spreading center cell independently goes through its cylce of stress buildup, stress release, and crustal accretion, after which its memory is refreshed. The temporal offset between the peaks of the accretionary activity that takes place within each cell may provide the mechanism for maintaining the independence of adjacent spreading center cells through times when no spatial offset between the cells exists.  相似文献   

9.
Gorringe Ridge is a strong uplifted block of oceanic crust and upper mantle lying at the eastern end of the Azores-Gibraltar plate boundary. The geoid over this structure derived from Seasat altimeter data exhibits a 9-m height anomaly with a north-south lateral extension smaller than 200 km. An attempt is made to interpret this geoid together with the gravity anomalies and with the seismicity, which has been compiled as a function of depth.It is first shown that the flexure of the oceanic lithosphere due to the ridge loading does not provide a good fit of the geoid anomalies and probably should be discarded, as it assumes a continuous unfractured elastic plate.Models involving local heterogeneities are then tested. The comparison of the observed geoid anomalies with the anomalies due to the uncompensated relief indicates that the topographic high has no shallow compensation.Uncompensated models, previously proposed to explain the gravity anomalies, are tested using the geoid. One model (Purdy and Bonnin, in Bonnin [11]), which involves an uplift of upper mantle material at depth, generates too strong geoid anomalies and must be discarded. Another model, which represents a nascent subduction zone (Le Pichon et al. [25]), fits both the gravity and geoid anomalies, but leads to difficulties in explaining the deep seismicity north of Gorringe Ridge.A model in isostatic equilibrium is also able to fit both gravity and geoid anomalies. This model involves a deep root of density 3.0 g cm?3, as has been previously proposed for many oceanic ridges and plateaus. This model is compatible with the deep seismicity, but the origin of this low-density material at great depth is up to now an unresolved question.More likely, dynamical models taking into account the forces induced by the convection related to the slow plate convergence in this area will have to be considered.  相似文献   

10.
The seismically active Macquarie Ridge complex forms the Pacific-India plate boundary between New Zealand and the Pacific-Antarctic spreading center. The Late Cenozoic deformation of New Zealand and focal mechanisms of recent large earthquakes in the Macquarie Ridge complex appear consistent with the current plate tectonic models. These models predict a combination of strike-slip and convergent motion in the northern Macquarie Ridge, and strike-slip motion in the southern part. The Hjort trench is the southernmost expression of the Macquarie Ridge complex. Regional considerations of the magnetic lineations imply that some oceanic crust may have been consumed at the Hjort trench. Although this arcuate trench seems inconsistent with the predicted strike-slip setting, a deep trough also occurs in the Romanche fracture zone.Geoid anomalies observed over spreading ridges, subduction zones, and fracture zones are different. Therefore, geoid anomalies may be diagnostic of plate boundary type. We use SEASAT data to examine the Macquarie Ridge complex and find that the geoid anomalies for the northern Hjort trench region are different from the geoid anomalies for the Romanche trough. The Hjort trench region is characterized by an oblique subduction zone geoid anomaly, e.g., the Aleutian-Komandorski region. Also, limited first-motion data for the large 1924 earthquake that occurred in the northern Hjort trench suggest a thrust focal mechanism. We conclude that subduction is occurring at the Hjort trench. The existence of active subduction in this area implies that young oceanic lithosphere can subduct beneath older oceanic lithosphere.  相似文献   

11.
In this study, we aim to map the Curie point depth surface for the northern Red Sea rift region and its surroundings based on the spectral analysis of aeromagnetic data. Spectral analysis technique was used to estimate the boundaries (top and bottom) of the magnetized crust. The Curie point depth (CPD) estimates of the Red Sea rift from 112 overlapping blocks vary from 5 to 20 km. The depths obtained for the bottom of the magnetized crust are assumed to correspond to Curie point depths where the magnetic layer loses its magnetization. Intermediate to deep Curie point depth anomalies (10–16 km) were observed in southern and central Sinai and the Gulf of Suez (intermediate heat flow) due to the uplifted basement rocks. The shallowest CPD of 5 km (associated with very high heat flow, ~235 mW m?2) is located at/around the axial trough of the Red Sea rift region especially at Brothers Island and Conrad Deep due to its association with both the concentration of rifting to the axial depression and the magmatic activity, whereas, beneath the Gulf of Aqaba, three Curie point depth anomalies belonging to three major basins vary from 10 km in the north to about 14 km in the south (with a mean heat flow of about 85 mW m?2). Moreover, low CPD anomalies (high heat flow) were also observed beneath some localities in the northern part of the Gulf of Suez at Hammam Fraun, at Esna city along River Nile, at west Ras Gharib in the eastern desert and at Safaga along the western shore line of the Red Sea rift. These resulted from deviatoric tensional stresses developing in the lithosphere which contribute to its further extension and may be due to the opening of the Gulf of Suez and/or the Red Sea rift. Furthermore, low CPD (with high heat flow anomaly) was observed in the eastern border of the study area, beneath northern Arabia, due to the quasi-vertical low-velocity anomaly which extends into the lower mantle and may be related to volcanism in northern Arabia. Dense microearthquakes seem to occur in areas where the lateral gradients of the CPD are steep (e.g. entrance of the Gulf of Suez and Brothers Island in the Red Sea). These areas may correspond to the boundaries between high and low thermal regions of the crust. Thus, the variations in the microseismic activity may be closely related to thermal structures of the crust. Indeed, shallow cutoff depths of seismicity can also be found in some geothermal areas (e.g. western area of Safaga city along the Red Sea coastal region and at Esna city along the River Nile). These facts indicate that the changes in the thickness of the seismogenic layer strongly depend on temperature. Generally, the shallow Curie point depth indicates that some regions in our study area are promising regions for further geothermal exploration particularly in some localities along the River Nile, Red Sea and Gulf of Suez coastal regions.  相似文献   

12.
The aeromagnetic values over the study region are relatively uniform except for a few anomalies in the northeastern and southwestern areas. Analyses of aeromagnetic data were performed in NW Turkey, in order to have a look into the subsurface regional thermal structure of the region. For this purpose, power spectra, reduced to pole (RTP), and band-pass filtered anomalies were produced using geophysical techniques. Band-pass filtered data were produced from the RTP aeromagnetic anomalies to isolate near surface and undesired deep effects. Based on the aeromagnetic data interpretation, the thickness of the magnetized crust, named the Curie Point Depth (CPD), in the study area lies between 9.7 and 20.3 km. The CPD estimates in the Thrace region of Turkey indicate two shallow CPD (SCPD1 and SCPD2) zones (the Istranca Massif and the Saros Graben area). The deep CPD are located within the Thrace Basin with sediment thickness of about 9 km. The corresponding heat flow map prepared from the averaged thermal conductivities and thermal gradients from the CPD reveals the existence of one low heat flow zone (75 mW/m2) over the center of Thrace Basin, and two high heat flow zones over the Istranca Masif (100–125 mW/m2) in the northern side and Saros Graben (125–135 mW/m2) areas in the southern side of the Thrace Basin.  相似文献   

13.
Summary The surface thermal flux of the continental margins of the northwestern Mediterranean Sea is interpreted on the basis of a 1-D instantaneous pure shear stretching model of the lithosphere in terms of three components: the background heat flowing out from the asthenosphere (38 mW m–2), the transient contribution depending on the rift age and extension amount (35 mW m–2 at the most), and the contribution due to the radiogenic elements of the lithosphere. The radiogenic component is estimated at the continental margins of the Ligurian-Provençal basin and Valencia trough, and in the surrounding mainland areas by means of available data of surface heat generation from Variscan Corsica, Maures-Estérel and the Central Massif along with a geophysical-petrological relationship between heat production and seismic velocity. The lithosphere radiogenic heat contribution ql decreases with the thinning factor according to the exponential law: ql() = a exp(-b), in which factor b is greater for that part of the lithosphere below the uppermost 10 km. Considering also the heat generated by radioactive isotopes in sediments, the stable Variscan lithosphere produces an average thermal flux of 30 mW m–2 which decreases by about one half where the lithosphere is thinned by one third. Although the surface heat generation is 2·1 – 3·3 µW m–3 in the Maures-Estérel massif — excepting small outcrops of dioritic rocks with lower heat production — and 1·8 µW m–3 for most of Corsica, the radiogenic heating within the lithosphere for such areas is nearly the same and does not explain the higher heat flux of the Corsica margin. This asymmetric thermal pattern with surface heat flux which is 10 – 15 mW m–2 higher than predictions is probably of upper mantle origin, or can be ascribed to penetrative magmatism.  相似文献   

14.
Heat flow values were calculated from direct measurements of temperature and thermal conductivity at thirteen sites in the Arkansas-Missouri Ozark Plateau region. These thirteen values are augmented by 101 estimates of heat flow, based on thermal conductivity measurements and temperature gradients extrapolated from bottom-hole temperatures. The regional heat flow profile ranges from 9 mW m−2 to over 80 mW m−2, but at least two distinct thermal regimes have been identified. Seven new heat flow determinations are combined with three previously published values for the St. Francois Mountains (SFM), a Precambrian exposure of granitic and rhyolitic basement rocks, average 47 mW m−2. Radioactive heat production of 76 samples of the exposed rocks in the SFM averages 2.4 μW m−2 and a typical continental basement contribution of 14 mW m−2 is implied. Conversely, the sedimentary rock sequence of the plateau is characterized by an anomalously low heat flow, averaging approximately 27 mW m−2. Groundwater transmissivity values that are based on data from 153 wells in deep regional aquifers demonstrate an inverse relationship to the observed heat flow patterns. The areas of high transmissivity that correspond to areas of low total heat flux suggest that the non-conservative vertical heat flow within the Ozark sedimentary sequence can be attributed to the effects of groundwater flow.  相似文献   

15.
A simple model for mid-plate swells is that of convection in a fluid which has a low viscosity layer lying between a rigid bed and a constant viscosity region. Finite element calculations have been used to determine the effects of the viscosity contrast, the layer thickness and the Rayleigh number on the flow and on the perceived compensation mechanism for the resulting topographic swell. As the viscosity decreases in the low viscosity zone, the effective local Rayleigh number for the top boundary layer of the convecting cell increases. Also, because the lower viscosity facilitates greater velocities in the low viscosity zone, the low viscosity layer produces proportionally greater horizontal flow near the conducting lid, causing the base of the conducting lid to appear like a free boundary. The change in the local Rayleigh number and in the effective boundary condition both cause the top boundary layer to thin. Through a Green's function analysis, we have found that the low viscosity zone damps the response of the surface topography to the temperature anomalies at depth, whereas it causes the gravity and geoid response functions to change sign at depth counteracting the positive contributions from the shallower temperature variations. By increasing the viscosity contrast, the conbined effects of the thinning of the boundary layer and the behaviour of the response functions allow the apparent depth of compensation to become arbitrarily small. Therefore, shallow depths of compensation cannot be used to argue against dynamic support of mid-plate swells. Furthermore, we compared the distribution of the effective compensating densities, which is used to obtain the geoid, to that of Pratt compensation, which is often used to calculate the depth of compensation from geoid and topography data for mid-plate swells. For all of our calculations including those with no low viscosity layer, the effective gravitational mass distribution is more complex than assumed in simple Pratt models, so that the Pratt models are not an appropriate gauge of the compensation mechanism.  相似文献   

16.
Heat flow data from the eastern Mediterranean region indicates an extensive area of low heat flow, spreading over the whole basin of the Mediterranean east of Crete (Levantine Sea), Cyprus, and northern Egypt. The average of the marine heat flow measurements in the Levantine Sea is 25.7±8.4 mW/m2, and the heat flow on Cyprus is 28.0±8.0 mW/m2. The estimated values of heat flow in northern Egypt range from 38.3±7.0 to 49.9±9.3 mW/m2, apparently with no consistent trend. To the east, on the coast of Israel, the heat flow values increase, ranging from 36.6±22.4 to 56.7±14.2 mW/m2 along a SSE trend. The trend apparently correlates with an increase in crustal thickness, which is about 23 km at the north-west base of the Nile-Delta-cone, and close to 40 km beneath Israel.Contribution No. 157, Department of Geology, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio, USA.  相似文献   

17.
We present a set of 39 new determinations of heat flow and radiogenic heat production for several different geological environments in the State of New Hampshire (U.S.A.). With the extensive data set now available for the state, the linear relation of heat flow and heat production appears as a very useful generalization for the study of the heat flow field of a geological province. Our measurements indicate that the vertical distribution of radiogenic heat production is similar in plutonic and metasedimentary rocks. Our data are compatible with the linear relationship established earlier by F. Birch and his co-workers in 1968. Young granites are markedly enriched in radioactive elements and those which do not outcrop are revealed by anomalies in the general relation of heat flow versus radioactivity.Heat flow is high for plutons by low elsewhere. The mean heat flow through metasedimentary formations is 1.15 μcal/cm2 s (48 mW/m2), a value near the mean heat flow for old cratons. The lowest heat flow measured is 0.76 μcal/cm2 s (32 mW/m2) for a unit poor in radioactivity. The heat flow field grades smoothly into the low heat flow regions of the Canadian Shield.The New Hampshire region is in thermal equilibrium: its heat flow is in secular equilibrium with the heat generated by crustal sources and that supplied from the mantle. In this area, the thermal perturbations due to orogenic events decrease below the detection level in less than 200–275 Ma. The thickness of the layer which is thermally affected during continent-continent collision-type orogenies cannot be greater than about 190 km.  相似文献   

18.
The Central Volcanic Region of New Zealand is an active back-arc basin developed within continental lithosphere, and therefore offers a rare opportunity to study back-arc extension from land-based observations. Two parameters related to the heat output from the Central Volcanic Region are of particular interest. Firstly, the average heat flow for the eastern half of the Central Volcanic Region is about 800 mW/m2—in order to maintain this heat flow over geological time periods an efficient mass-transfer of heat is required. Secondly, the observed asymmetry in the pattern of heat output, coupled with the tectonic erosion of blocks of continental crust from the eastern axial ranges into the Central Volcanic Region, suggests that the process currently in progress at the eastern margin of the Region is asymmetric spreading with concomitant thermal differentiation of continental crust into its silicic and basic components.  相似文献   

19.
In the steady state, the convective boundary layer (CBL) (the transition from the lithosphere to the convecting mantle, the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary) is on the verge of stability. This determines its depth, thickness, and the steady-state temperature distribution in the lithosphere. Had the mantle been homogeneous, the base of the lithosphere at the current potential temperature would lie globally at the same depth H rh of 50 to 70 km. Actually, the regime of interaction of the mantle convection with the lithosphere is determined by the relationship between this depth and the thickness H depl of the chemical boundary layer including the crust and the layer of the depleted rock. If the thickness of the chemical boundary layer is small H depl < H rh, as it is the case in the present-day oceanic mantle, the suboceanic regime is established with the mantle convection that does not reach the base of the chemical boundary layer. In this case, the top of CBL is located at depth H rh, while the oceanic heat flow and the depth of the seafloor only depend on the potential temperature T p and, within the areas where the crust is older than 60 to 70 Ma, are the same everywhere far from the disturbed territories (the hot points and the subduction zones). The absence of noticeable distinctions between the heat flow in the different oceanic basins suggests a global constancy of the potential temperature. If H depl > H rh, the subcontinental regime of the interaction of the mantle convection with the lithosphere is established. In this case, the CBL is immediately adjacent to the depleted lithosphere, its top is located at depth H depl, and the surface heat flow q(T p, H depl) not only depends on the potential temperature T p but also on the the thickness of the depleted lithosphere H depl; it decreases with increasing H depl and, therefore, with the age of the lithosphere. Given the potential temperature, the dependence q(T p, H depl) agrees well with the envelope of the results of kimberlite xenolith thermobarometry presented in the diagram of the deepest xenolith depth as a function of the heat flow. It is likely that in the lowest part of the continental lithosphere there is a zone of horizontal shear deformation, from where kimberlites entrain the strongly deformed and, at the same time, the deepest xenoliths. Besides, the azimuthal anisotropy of seismic velocities can be associated with this zone. The change in its direction with depth can be observed as the Lehmann discontinuity.  相似文献   

20.
The Red Sea is a modern example of continental fragmentation and incipient ocean formation. Heat flow data have been collected from eastern Egypt to provide information relating to the mode and mechanism of Red Sea opening. Preliminary heat flow data, including new data reported here, are now available from twenty-five sites in eastern Egypt and one site in western Sinai. A pattern of low to normal heat flow (35–55 mW m−2) inland with high heat flow (75–100 mW m−2) in a zone within 30 to 40 km of the coast is indicated.Moderately high heat flow (around 70 mW m−2) is indicated for the Gulf of Suez. The coastal zone thermal anomaly appears continuous with high heat flow previously reported for the Red Sea shelf. Heat production data indicate that the coastal thermal anomaly is not primarily related to crustal radiogenic heat production. The effects of rapid erosion may contribute to the anomaly, but are not thought to be the primary cause of the anomaly. If the anomaly is caused by lateral conduction from hot, extended, offshore lithosphere, the extension must have been active for the last 30 Ma or so, and a minimum of 100% extension is indicated. Alternatively, the anomaly is primarily caused by high mantle heat flow causing lithospheric thinning, centred beneath the Red Sea. The Red Sea is probably underlain by dominantly basic crust, formed either by intrusion into attenuated continental crust or sea-floor spreading, and for most purposes the crust formed in these two modes of extension may be essentially indistinguishable. Fission-track ages from eastern Egypt indicate that uplift started prior to, or at latest at the time of initial Red Sea opening, and this result, together with thermo-mechanical considerations, suggests an active asthenospheric upwelling beneath the Red Sea and high temperature in the lithosphere prior to extension.  相似文献   

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