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Hotspots, polar wander, mesozoic convection and the geoid
| Content Provider | NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) |
|---|---|
| Author | Anderson, D. L. |
| Copyright Year | 1981 |
| Description | The geoid bears little relation to present tectonic features of the earth other than trenches. The Mesozoic supercontinent of Pangea, however, apparently occupied a central position in the Atlantic-African geoid high. This and the equatorial Pacific geoid high contain most of the world's hotspots. The plateaus and rises in the western Pacific formed in the Pacific geoid high and this may have been the early Mesozoic position of Pacifica, the fragments of which are now the Pacific rim portions of the continents. Geoid highs which are unrelated to present subduction zones may be the former sites of continental aggregations and mantle insulation and, therefore, hotter than normal mantle. The pent-up heat causes rifts and hotspots and results in extensive uplift, magmatism, fragmentation and dispersal of the continents and the subsequent formation of plateaus, aseismic ridges and seamount chains. Convection in the uppermantle would then be due to lateral temperature gradients as well as heating from below and would be intrinsically episodic. |
| File Size | 1024655 |
| Page Count | 20 |
| File Format | |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://archive.org/details/NASA_NTRS_Archive_19820003821 |
| Archival Resource Key | ark:/13960/t3nw48w4w |
| Language | English |
| Publisher Date | 1981-11-10 |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Geophysics Earth Planetary Structure Structural Properties Geology Subduction Geology Geology Earth Mantle Earth Movements Geodesy Geoids Convection Ntrs Nasa Technical Reports Server (ntrs) Nasa Technical Reports Server Aerodynamics Aircraft Aerospace Engineering Aerospace Aeronautic Space Science |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Technical Report |
