Dallas H. Abbott, Carol A. Stein and Orest Diachok

Topographic relief and sediment thickness; their effects on the thermal evolution of the oceanic crust

Geophysical Research Letters(October 1992), 19(19):1975-1978

Index Terms/Descriptors: conductivity; crust; heat flow; oceanic crust; relief; sedimentary cover; thermal conductivity; thickness; topography

Abstract:

We compiled a suite of 490 heat flow measurements from the Pacific Ocean in areas with less than 85 m of sediment. Heat flow patterns at different basement ages vary with topographic relief. Areas with reliefs < 300 meters are conductively blanketed at 40-60 m.y. and may stop convecting at 70-90 m.y. Areas with reliefs > 300 meters are conductively blanketed at 70-90 m.y. and convect out to > or = 90-110 m.y.