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Lithosphere Weakening During Arctic Ocean Opening: Evidence From Effective Elastic Thickness
Author(s) -
Lu Yu,
Lu Zhezhe,
Li ChunFeng,
Zhu Shuang,
Audet Pascal
Publication year - 2021
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 - 10.1029/2021gl094090
Subject(s) - lithosphere , geology , bathymetry , lithospheric flexure , breakup , arctic , tectonics , ridge , geophysics , seafloor spreading , ridge push , seismology , oceanography , paleontology , psychology , psychoanalysis
Evolution of the Arctic Ocean lithosphere has involved multiple stages of opening with crustal stretching and thinning prior to lithospheric breakup. Mapping lateral variations in lithospheric rheology can help unravel the detailed tectonic history of the Arctic. Here we perform a wavelet analysis of gravity and bathymetry data to map the effective elastic thickness ( T e ) of the lithosphere in the Arctic. The low overallT esuggests that large shear stresses and serpentinization weakened the lithosphere at Arctic passive margins during a multistage opening process. Moderately lowT evalues along the Gakkel Ridge imply a relatively cold ultraslow‐spreading center compared to typical mid‐ocean ridges.