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A model for the global variation in oceanic depth and heat flow with lithospheric age

Nature volume 359, pages 123–129 (1992)Cite this article

Abstract

Variations in sea-floor depth and heat flow with age provide the main constraints on the thermal structure and evolution of the oceanic lithosphere. Joint fitting of heat flow and bathymetry yields a model with a hotter, thinner lithosphere than in previous models. The new model provides a significantly better fit to the data, including those from older lithosphere previously treated as anomalous. This will facilitate the analysis of lithospheric processes, including the effects of mid-plate volcanism and swells, regional subsidence, and hydrothermal circulation near spreading centres.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, 60680, USA

    Carol A. Stein

  2. Department of Geological Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, 60208, USA

    Seth Stein

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  1. Carol A. Stein
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  2. Seth Stein
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Stein, C., Stein, S. A model for the global variation in oceanic depth and heat flow with lithospheric age. Nature 359, 123–129 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1038/359123a0

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