Thermal Model of Ocean Ridges

Abstract

MCKENZIE'S model of crustal creation at the ocean ridges^1,2 and its derivatives^3,4 predicts such features as the topography and high heat flow of the ridges. In spite of this success there are some unsatisfactory aspects of the model; for example, the arbitrary temperature distribution in the intrusive zone gives rise to infinite heat generation and the lithospheric thickness is a free parameter not determined by the physics. We offer here a simple refinement of McKenzie's model that overcomes these difficulties. The essential difference stems from the inclusion of terms in the boundary conditions to account for the evolution of latent heat in places where the plate is growing. We first describe the physical basis of the model.