Cooling of the lower oceanic crust

Maclennan, J. and Hulme, T. and Singh, S. C. (2005) Cooling of the lower oceanic crust. Geology, 33 (5). pp. 357-366. DOI 10.1130/G21207.1

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Abstract

Thermal models of mid-ocean ridges that balance the influx of heat from magmatic sources with the removal of heat by conduction and hydrothermal circulation allow quantification of cooling of young oceanic crust. These models reproduce key observations relating to crustal accretion and hydrothermal cooling at fast-spreading ridges. The rate of cooling is constrained both by the bathymetry of ridge axes and by olivine compositions from ophiolite gabbros. Successful models involve extensive hydrothermal cooling of the lower crust within 20 km of the ridge, with ~50–70 kW of hydrothermal cooling for every 1 m of ridge axis at crustal ages of <0.1–0.4 Ma. These timates can be used to refine global models of geochemical and thermal fluxes close to spreading ridges.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	2005 AREP 2005 P IA48
Subjects:	02 - Geodynamics, Geophysics and Tectonics
Divisions:	02 - Geodynamics, Geophysics and Tectonics
Journal or Publication Title:	Geology
Volume:	33
Page Range:	pp. 357-366
Identification Number:	10.1130/G21207.1
Depositing User:	Sarah Humbert
Date Deposited:	15 Feb 2011 13:23
Last Modified:	23 Jul 2013 09:59
URI:	http://eprints.esc.cam.ac.uk/id/eprint/1736

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