Continental mechanics
Article Abstract:
The outer shell, or lithosphere of the Earth is rigid, and in plat tectonics, it behaves mechanically in oceanic regions, as a small number of rigid plates. Bourne, England and Parsons have reported that geological slip rates on certain faults can be predicted from elastic strain accumulation measurements. England and Molnar have estimated the overall strength of the lithosphere as a strain-rate-dependent viscosity, and their work is crucial to understanding that of Bourne and colleagues. Davies and colleagues suggested that the viscosity of the continental lithosphere in the Aegean region, compares to that in central Asia.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1998
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Interaction of weak faults and non-newtonian rheology produces plate tectonics in a 3D model of mantle flow
Article Abstract:
Three-dimensional models of mantle flow show that the observed characteristics of plate motion are related to faulted plate margins that are weak. The method incorporates the faults and the forces experienced by the plates due to subconducting slabs and mid-ocean ridges. Interaction between weak transform faults and a strain weakening power-law rheology results in plate-like motion. These along with the thrust fault decoupling may give rise to oblique subduction. The simultaneous prediction of surface kinetics, gravity, and topography results in a high degree of tectonic realism.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1996
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The valley that time forgot
Article Abstract:
Analysis of the Cretaceous rocks of the Romanche fracture zone near the Mid-Atlantic Ridge shows that the sediments are 140 million years old, whereas the ocean crust dates back only to 120 million years. The top few kilometers of the traverse ridges, parallel to some fracture zones, are sedimentary and compressional faults that lifted the sediments up to their present top position. A geological analysis of the Romanche fracture zone and South America reveals that ridges and small basins are an early part of ridge development.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1996
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