EarthRef.org Reference Database (ERR)
Development and Maintenance by the EarthRef.org Database Team

Detailed Reference Information
Simons & van der Hilst 2002
Simons, F.J. and van der Hilst, R.D. (2002). Age-dependent seismic thickness and mechanical strength of the Australian lithosphere. Geophysical Research Letters 29: doi: 10.1029/2002GL014962. issn: 0094-8276.

We present constraints on the regional variations of the seismic and mechanical thickness of the Australian lithosphere. We infer the seismic thickness from a waveform tomographic model of S-wave speed, and as a proxy for the elastic thickness we use the wavelength at which the coherence of surface topography and Bouguer gravity drops below half of its long-wavelength maximum. Our results show that on scales <1000 km the relationship between the age of the crust and the thickness of the lithosphere is more complicated than longer-wavelength or global averages suggest. Recent geochemical and geodynamical evidence for small-scale secular variations of the composition and stability of continental cratons further illustrates the complexity of the age dependence of seismo-mechanical lithospheric properties on regional scales.

BACKGROUND DATA FILES

Abstract

Keywords
Geodesy and Gravity, Local gravity anomalies and crustal structure, Geodesy and Gravity, Rheology of the lithosphere and mantle, Seismology, Lithosphere and upper mantle, Seismology, Surface waves and free oscillations, Tectonophysics, Tomography
Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
http://www.agu.org/journals/gl/
Publisher
American Geophysical Union
2000 Florida Avenue N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20009-1277
USA
1-202-462-6900
1-202-328-0566
service@agu.org
Click to clear formClick to return to previous pageClick to submit