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Ins and outs on the ocean floor

Researchers investigating heat exchange between the ocean floor and the ocean have various long-standing issues to tackle. The latest measurements of heat flux in hydrothermally active crust will add to these debates.

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Figure 1: Changes in ocean-floor depth, sediment thickness and hydrothermal circulation with increasing age of the lithosphere.

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Correspondence to John G. Sclater.

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Sclater, J. Ins and outs on the ocean floor. Nature 421, 590–591 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/421590a

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