Abstract
In all experiments presented in the previous chapter densities of the lithosphereρland the asthenosphere ρaare equal. Such a condition corresponds to reality only to a first approximation. In fact, ρl may be either less than or greater than ρa. The lithospheric density depends on many factors, the “thermal” age being the most important one[Oxburgh and Parmentier, 1977;Oxburgh and Turcotte, 1976;England and Wortel, 1980]. The greater the age of lithosphere (i.e., the colder and thicker it is), the higher its average density p l. Estimates for \( \Delta \rho (\Delta \rho = {\rho _l} - {\rho _a})\) vary from very small values to those in excess of 0.1 x 103kg/m3[Yoshii, 1973;Toksoz et al., 1973;Grow, 1973;Watts and Talwani, 1975]. The average lithospheric and asthenospheric densities become equal when the age of the oceanic lithosphere reaches about 50 Ma[Oxburgh and Parmentier, 1977;Molnar and Atwater, 1978;England and Wortel, 1980;Sacks, 1983].
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© 1994 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Shemenda, A.I. (1994). Relationship between Subduction Regime and Back Arc Dynamics. In: Subduction. Modern Approaches in Geophysics, vol 11. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-0952-9_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-0952-9_4
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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