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Abrupt thermal transition reveals hydrothermal boundary and role of seamounts within the Cocos Plate
Author(s) -
Fisher A. T.,
Stein C. A.,
Harris R. N.,
Wang K.,
Silver E. A.,
Pfender M.,
Hutnak M.,
Cherkaoui A.,
Bodzin R.,
Villinger H.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2002gl016766
Subject(s) - lithosphere , geology , seafloor spreading , hydrothermal circulation , crust , seamount , geophysics , plate tectonics , basement , transition zone , thermal , tectonics , oceanic crust , petrology , seismology , geochemistry , subduction , physics , meteorology , civil engineering , engineering
New thermal data from 18–24 Ma lithosphere on the Cocos Plate delineate contrasting subsurface thermal conditions in adjacent sections of crust. Heat flow through seafloor created at the East Pacific Rise is generally suppressed by ∼70% relative to conductive lithospheric cooling models, whereas heat flow through adjacent, similarly‐aged lithosphere generated at the Cocos‐Nazca Spreading Center is consistent with these models. The transition between thermal regimes is remarkably abrupt, only 2–5 km wide, indicating a shallow hydrothermal origin. The transition is more closely associated with differences in the distribution of basement outcrops than with tectonic boundaries, demonstrating the importance of the former in extracting heat from the lithosphere on a regional basis.