The behavior of the lithosphere on seismic to geologic timescales

Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences

Volumn 41, Issue , 2013, Pages 443-468

  Watts, A B ^a   Zhong, S J ^b   Hunter, J ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD   (United Kingdom)

^b UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO   (United States)

Author keywords

Elastic thickness; Flexure; Rheology; Stress relaxation; Viscosity

Indexed keywords

DYNAMIC TOPOGRAPHY; ELASTIC THICKNESS; FLEXURE; GEOLOGICAL TIME; LOADING AND UNLOADING; LOW-VELOCITY ZONE; SEALEVEL CHANGE; TIME-SCALES;

RHEOLOGY; SEA LEVEL; SEISMOLOGY; STRATIGRAPHY; STRESS RELAXATION; UNLOADING; VISCOSITY;

LOADING;

ELASTICITY; FLEXURE; RHEOLOGY; SEA LEVEL CHANGE; SEA SURFACE TOPOGRAPHY; SEISMIC VELOCITY; STRESS CHANGE; TIMESCALE; UNLOADING;

EID: 84878705006     PISSN: 00846597     EISSN: None     Source Type: Book Series    
DOI: 10.1146/annurev-earth-042711-105457     Document Type: Article

References (117)

1. Ali MY, Watts AB. 2009. Subsidence history, gravity anomalies and flexure of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) foreland basin. GeoArabia 14:17-44
2. Ali MY, Watts AB, Hill I. 2003. A seismic reflection profile study of lithospheric flexure in the vicinity of the Cape Verde islands. J. Geophys. Res. 108(B5):2239
3. Allègre CJ, Dupre B, Lambret B, Richard P. 1981. The subcontinental versus suboceanic debate, I. Leadneodymium- strontium isotopes in primary alkali basalts from a shield area: the Ahaggar volcanic suite. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 52:85-92
4. Anderson DL, Minster JB. 1980. Seismic velocity, attenuation and rheology of the upper mantle. In Coulomb Volume, ed. C Allègre, pp. 13-22. Paris: Cent. Natl. Rech. Sci.
5. Asaadi N, Ribe NM, Sobouti F. 2011. Inferring nonlinear mantle rheology from the shape of the Hawaiian swell. Nature 473:501-4
6. Beaumont C. 1978. The evolution of sedimentary basins on a viscoelastic lithosphere: theory and examples. Geophys. J. R. Astron. Soc. 55:471-97
7. Beaumont C. 1979. On rheological zonation of the lithosphere during flexure. Tectonophysics 59:347-65
8. Beaumont C. 1981. Foreland basins. Geophys. J. R. Astron. Soc. 65:291-329
9. Bloom A. 1967. Pleistocene shorelines: a new test of isostasy. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 78:1477-94
10. rotchie JF, Silvester R. 1969. On crustal flexure. J. Geophys. Res. 74:5240-45
11. Burbank DW. 1992. Causes of recent Himalayan uplift deduced from deposited patterns in the Ganges basin. Nature 357:680-83
12. Burov E, Guillou-Frottier L. 2005. The plume head-continental lithosphere interaction using a tectonically realistic formulation for the lithosphere. Geophys. J. Int. 161:469-90
13. Catlos EJ, Harrison TM, Kohn MJ, Grove M, Ryerson FJ, et al. 2001. Geochronologic and thermobarometric constraints on the evolution of the Main Central Thrust, central Nepal Himalaya. J. Geophys. Res. 106:16177-204
14. Chan GH-N, Waters DJ, Searle MP, Aitchison JC, Horstwood MSA, et al. 2009. Probing the basement of southern Tibet: evidence from crustal xenoliths entrained in a Miocene ultrapotassic dyke. J. Geol. Soc. Lond. 166:45-52
15. Chappell J. 1974. Late Quaternary glacio- and hydro-isostasy, on a layered Earth. Quat. Res. 4:429-40
16. Christensen NI. 1978. Ophiolites, seismic velocities and oceanic crustal structure. Tectonophysics 47:131-57
17. Cochran JR, Talwani M. 1977. Free-Air gravity anomalies in the world's oceans and their relationship to residual elevation. Geophys. J. R. Astron. Soc. 50:495-552
18. Cohen SC, Darby DJ. 2003. Tectonic plate coupling and elastic thickness derived from the inversion of a steady state viscoelastic model using geodetic data: application to southern North Island New Zealand. J. Geophys. Res. 108(B3). doi: 10.1029/2001JB001687
19. Collier J,Watts AB. 2001. Lithospheric response to volcanic loading by the Canary Islands: constraints from seismic reflection data in their flexural moats. Geophys. J. Int. 147:660-76
20. Contreras-Reyes E, Grevemeyer I, Watts AB, Planert L, Flueh ER, Peirce C. 2010. Crustal intrusion beneath the Louisville hotspot track. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 289:323-33
21. Courtney RC, Beaumont C. 1983. Thermally-Activated creep and flexure of the oceanic lithosphere. Nature 305:201-4
22. Davies GF, Pribac F. 1993. Mesozoic seafloor subsidence and the Darwin Rise, past and present. In The Mesozoic Pacific: Geology, Tectonics, and Volcanism, ed. S Pringle, Geophys. Monogr. 77:39-52. Washington, DC: AGU
23. DiCaprio L, Müller RD, Gurnis M. 2010. A dynamic process for drowning carbonate reefs on the northeastern Australian margin. Geology 38:11-14
24. Dixon JE, Dixon TH, Bell DR, Malservisi R. 2004. Lateral variation in upper mantle viscosity: role of water. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 222:451-67
25. Flowers RM, Ault AK, Kelley SA, Zhang N, Zhong SJ. 2012. Epeirogeny or eustasy? Paleozoic-Mesozoic vertical motion of the North American continental interior from thermochronometry and implications for mantle dynamics. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 317-18:436-45
26. Fluck P, Hyndman RD, Lowe C. 2003. Effective elastic thickness Te of the lithosphere in western Canada. J. Geophys. Res. 108:2430. doi: 10.1029/2002JB002201
27. Freedman AP, Parsons B. 1986. Seasat-derived gravity over theMusician seamounts. J. Geophys. Res. 91:8325- 40
28. Gaherty JB, Kato M, Jordan TH. 1999. Seismological structure of the upper mantle: a regional comparison of seismic layering. Phys. Earth Planet. Inter. 110:21-41
29. Goetze C, Evans B. 1979. Stress and temperature in the bending lithosphere as constrained by experimental rock mechanics. Geophys. J. R. Astron. Soc. 59:463-78
30. Grevemeyer I, Weigel W, Schussler S, Avedik F. 2001. Crustal and upper mantle structure and lithospheric flexure along the Society Island hotspot chain. Geophys. J. Int. 147:123-40
31. Gurnis M. 1992. Rapid continental subsidence following the initiation and evolution of subduction. Science 255:1556-58
32. Hager BH. 1984. Subducted slabs and the geoid: constraints on mantle rheology and flow. J. Geophys. Res. 89:6003-15
33. Hartley R. 1995. Isostasy of Africa: implications for the thermo-mechanical behaviour of the continental lithosphere. PhD thesis. Oxford Univ., Oxford
34. Hirth G, Kohlstedt DL. 2003. Rheology of the upper mantle and the mantle wedge. In Inside the Subduction Factory, ed. J Eiler, Geophys. Monogr. 138:83-105. Washington, DC: AGU
35. Houseman G, Molnar P. 2001. Mechanisms of lithospheric rejuvenation associated with continental orogeny. J. Geol. Soc. Lond. 184:13-38
36. Humphreys E, Hessler E, Dueker K, Farmer GL, Erslev E, Atwater T. 2003. How laramide-Age hydration of North American lithosphere by the Farallon slab controlled subsequent activity in the western United States. Int. Geol. Rev. 45:575-95
37. Hutton EWH, Syvitski JPM, Watts AB. 2013. Isostatic flexure of a finite slope due to sea-level rise and fall. Comput. Geosci. 53:58-68
38. Iwasaki T, Matsu'ura M. 1982. Quasi-static crustal deformations due to a surface load: rheological structure of the Earth's crust and upper mantle. J. Phys. Earth 30:469-508
39. Jackson J, McKenzie D, Priestley K, Emmerson B. 2008 New views on the structure and rheology of the lithosphere. J. Geol. Soc. Lond. 165:453-65
40. Jordan TA,Watts AB. 2005. Gravity anomalies, flexure and the elastic thickness structure of the India-Eurasia collisional system. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 236:732-50
41. Jordan TE. 1981. Thrust loads and foreland basin evolution, Cretaceous, western United States. AAPG Bull. 65:2506-20
42. Kalnins LM, Watts AB. 2009. Spatial variations in effective elastic thickness in the western Pacific Ocean and their implications for Mesozoic volcanism. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 286:89-100
43. Karato S, Wu P. 1993. Rheology of the upper mantle. Science 260:771-78
44. Karner GD, Steckler MS, Thorne J. 1983. Long-Term mechanical properties of the continental lithosphere. Nature 304:250-53
45. Karner GD, Watts AB. 1983. Gravity anomalies and flexure of the lithosphere at mountain ranges. J. Geophys. Res. 88:10,449-77
46. Kawakatsu H, Kumar P, Takei Y, Shinohara M, Kanazawa T, et al. 2009. Seismic evidence for sharp lithosphere-Asthenosphere boundaries of oceanic plates. Science 324:499-502
47. Latychev K,Mitrovica JX, TamisieaME, Tromp J. 2005. Influence of lithospheric thickness variations on 3-D crustal velocities due to glacial isostatic adjustment. Geophys. Res. Lett. 32(1). doi: 10.1029/2004GL021454
48. Lin AT, Watts AB. 2002. Origin of the West Taiwan basin by orogenic loading and flexure of a rifted continental margin. J. Geophys. Res. 107:ETG2-1-19
49. Lithgow-Bertelloni C, Silver PG. 1998. Dynamic topography, plate driving forces and the African superswell. Nature 395:269-72
50. Liu L, Spasojevic S, Gurnis M. 2008 Reconstructing Farallon plate subduction beneath North America back to the Late Cretaceous. Science 322:934-37
51. Luis JF, Neves MC. 2006. The isostatic compensation of the Azores Plateau: a 3D admittance and coherence analysis. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 156:10-22
52. Lyon-Caen H, Molnar P. 1983. Constraints on the structure of the Himalaya from an analysis of gravity anomalies and a flexural model of the lithosphere. J. Geophys. Res. 88:8171-91
53. Lyons SN, Sandwell DT, Smith W.H.F. 2000. Three-dimensional estimation of elastic thickness under the Louisville ridge. J. Geophys. Res. 105:13239-52
54. ManeaM,Manea VC, Kostoglodov V, Guzman-Speziale M. 2005. Elastic thickness of the oceanic lithosphere beneath Tehuantepec ridge. Geofis. Int. 44:157-68
55. Mareschal JC, Jaupart C. 2004. Variations of surface heat flow and lithospheric thermal structure beneath the North American craton. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 223:65-77
56. McKenzie D. 2010. The influence of dynamically supported topography on estimates of Te. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 295:127-38
57. McKenzie D, Fairhead D. 1997. Estimates of the effective elastic thickness of the continental lithosphere from Bouguer and free-Air gravity anomalies. J. Geophys. Res. 102:27523-52
58. McKenzie D, Jackson J, Priestley K. 2005. Thermal structure of oceanic and continental lithosphere. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 233:337-49
59. McKenzie D, Watts AB, Parsons B, Roufosse M. 1980. Planform of mantle convection beneath the Pacific Ocean. Nature 288:442-46
60. McKenzie DP, Roberts JM, Weiss NO. 1974. Convection in the Earth's mantle: towards a numerical simulation. J. Fluid Mech. 82:465-538
61. Mei S, Suzuki AM, Kohlstedt DL, Dixon NA, Durham WB. 2010. Experimental constraints on the strength of the lithospheric mantle. J. Geophys. Res. 115(B8). doi: 10.1029/2009JB006873
62. Minshull TA, Ishizuka O, Garcia-Castellanos D. 2010. Long-Term growth and subsidence of Ascension Island: constraints on the rheology of young oceanic lithosphere. Geophys. Res. Lett. 37(23). doi: 10.1029/2010GL045112
63. Minshull TA, Ishizuka O, Mitchell NC, Evangelidis C. 2003. Vertical motions and lithosphere rheology at Ascension Island. Eos Trans. AGU 84(46), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstr. V11B-06
64. Mitrovica JX, Beaumont C, Jarvis G. 1989. Tilting of continental interiors by the dynamical effects of subduction. Tectonics 8:1079-94
65. Mooney WD, Laske G, Masters TG. 1998. CRUST 5.1: a global crustal model at 5o5o. J. Geophys. Res. 103:727-47
66. Motagh M, Klotz J, Tavakoli F, Djamour Y, Arabi S, et al. 2006. Combination of precise leveling and InSAR data to constrain source parameters of the Mw = 6.5, 26 December 2003 Bam earthquake. Pure Appl. Geophys. 163:1-18
67. Müller RD, Lim VSL, Isern AR. 2000. Late Tertiary tectonic subsidence on the northeast Australian passive margin: response to dynamic topography? Mar. Geol. 162:337-52
68. Nishimura T, ThatcherW. 2003. Rheology of the lithosphere inferred from postseismic uplift following the 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake. J. Geophys. Res. 108(B8). doi: 10.1029/2002JB002191
69. Panasyuk SV, Hager BH. 2000. Models of isostatic and dynamic topography, geoid anomalies and their uncertainties. J. Geophys. Res. 105:28199-209
70. Pari G, Peltier WR. 2000. Subcontinental mantle dynamics: a further analysis based on the joint constraints of dynamic surface topography and free-Air gravity. J. Geophys. Res. 105:5635-62
71. Parker RL. 1972. The rapid calculation of potential anomalies. Geophys. J. R. Astron. Soc. 31:447-55
72. Parsons BE, Sclater JG. 1977. An analysis of the variation of ocean floor bathymetry and heat flow with age. J. Geophys. Res. 82:803-27
73. Pavlis NK,Holmes SA, Kenyon SC, Factor JK. 2008 An Earth gravitational model to degree 2160: EGM2008 Geophys. Res. Abstr. 10:EGU2008-A-01891
74. PeltierWR. 2002. Global glacial isostatic adjustment: palaeogeodetic and space-geodetic tests of the ICE-4G (VM2) model. J. Quat. Sci. 17:491-510
75. PeltierWR, Shennan I, Drummond R, Horton B. 2002. On the postglacial isostatic adjustment of the British Isles and the shallow viscoelastic structure of the Earth. Geophys. J. Int. 148:443-75
76. Perez-Gussinye M, Lowry AR,Watts AB. 2007. Effective elastic thickness of South America and its implications for intracontinental deformation. Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst. 8:5009. doi: 10.1029/2006GC001511
77. Perez-GussinyeM,MetoisM, Fernandez M, Verges J, Fullea J, Lowry AR. 2009. Effective elastic thickness of Africa and its relationship to other proxies for lithospheric structure and surface tectonics. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 287:152-67
78. Perez-GussinyeM,Watts AB. 2005. The long-Term strength of Europe and its implications for plate-forming processes. Nature 436:381-84
79. Pim J, Peirce C, Watts AB, Grevemeyer I, Krabbenhoeft A. 2008 Crustal structure and origin of the Cape Verde Rise. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 272:422-28
80. Podolefsky NS, Zhong SJ, McNamara AK. 2004. The anisotropic and rheological structure of the oceanic upper mantle from a simple model of plate shear. Geophys. J. Int. 158:287-296
81. Pollitz FF. 2003. Transient rheology of the uppermost mantle beneath the Mojave Desert, California. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 215:89-104
82. Priestley K, McKenzie D. 2006. The thermal structure of the lithosphere from shear velocities. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 244:285-301
83. Quinlan GM, Beaumont C. 1984. Appalachian thrusting, lithospheric flexure and the Paleozoic stratigraphy of the eastern interior of North America. Can. J. Earth Sci. 21:973-96
84. Rees BA, Detrick RS, Coakley BJ. 1993. Seismic stratigraphy of the Hawaiian flexural moat. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 105:189-205
85. Ricard Y, Richards M, Lithgow-Bertelloni C, Le Stunff Y. 1993. A geodynamical model of mantle density heterogeneity. J. Geophys. Res. 98:21895-909
86. Rychert CA, Fischer KM, Rondenay S. 2005. A sharp lithosphere- Asthenosphere boundary imaged beneath eastern North America. Nature 436:542-45
87. Sacek V, Ussami N. 2009. Reappraisal of the effective elastic thickness for the sub-Andes using 3-D finite element flexural modelling, gravity and geological constraints. Geophys J. Int. 179:778-86
88. Saltus RW, Thompson GA. 1995. Why is it downhill from Tonopah to Las Vegas? A case for mantle plume support of the high northern Basin and Range. Tectonics 14:1235-44
89. Sandwell DT, Smith W.H.F. 1997. Marine gravity anomaly from Geosat and ERS-1 satellite altimetry. J. Geophys. Res. 102:10039-54
90. Sclater JG, Lawver LA, Parsons BE. 1975. Comparison of long wavelength residual elevation and free air gravity anomalies in the North Atlantic and possible implications for the thickness of the lithosphere plate. J. Geophys. Res. 80:1031-52
91. Shapiro NM, RitzwollerMH. 2002. Monte-Carlo inversion for a global shear-velocity model of the crust and upper mantle. Geophys. J. Int. 151:88-105
92. Sheffels B, McNutt M. 1986. Role of subsurface loads and regional compensation in the isostatic balance of the Transverse Ranges, California: evidence for intracontinental subduction. J. Geophys. Res. 91:6419-31
93. Sleep NH, Snell NS. 1976. Thermal contraction and flexure of mid-continent and Atlantic marginal basins. Geophys. J. R. Astron. Soc. 45:125-54
94. Sloss LL, SchererW. 1975. Geometry of sedimentary basins: applications to the Devonian of North America and Europe. Geol. Soc. Am. Mem. 142:71-88
95. Stewart J,Watts AB. 1997. Gravity anomalies and spatial variations of flexural rigidity at mountain ranges. J. Geophys. Res. 102:5327-52
96. Swain CJ, Kirby JF. 2006. An effective elastic thickness map of Australia from wavelet transforms of gravity and topography using Forsyth's method. Geophys. Res. Lett. 33(2). doi: 10.1029/2005GL025090
97. Sweeney JF. 1977. Subsidence of the Sverdrup basin, Canadian Arctic Islands. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 88:41-48
98. Tassara A, Swain C, Hackney R, Kirby J. 2006. Elastic thickness structure of South America estimated using wavelets and satellite-derived gravity data. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 253:17-36
99. Tiwara VM, Mishra DC. 1999. Estimation of effective elastic thickness from gravity and topography data under the Deccan Volcanic Province, India. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 171:289-99
100. Ussami N, Cogo de Sa N, Molina EC. 1993. Gravitymap of Brazil. 2. Regional and residual isostatic anomalies and their correlation with major tectonic provinces. J. Geophys. Res. 98:2199-208
101. van Hunen J, Zhong SJ, Shapiro NM, Ritzwoller MH. 2005. New evidence for dislocation creep from 3-D geodynamic modeling the Pacific upper mantle structure. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 238:146-55
102. Vergnolle M, Pollitz F, Calais F. 2003. Constraints on the viscosity of the continental crust and mantle from GPS measurements and postseismic deformation models in westernMongolia. J. Geophys. Res. 108(B10). doi: 10.1029/2002JB002374
103. Walcott RI. 1973. Structure of the Earth from glacio-isostatic rebound. Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. 1:15-38
104. Wang Y, Mareschal J-C. 1999. Elastic thickness of the lithosphere in the Central Canadian Shield. Geophys. Res. Lett. 26:3033-36
105. Watts AB. 2001. Isostasy and Flexure of the Lithosphere. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press. 458 pp.
106. Watts AB, Bodine JH, Steckler MS. 1980. Observations of flexure and the state of stress in the oceanic lithosphere. J. Geophys. Res. 85:6369-76
107. Watts AB, Daly SF. 1981. Long wavelength gravity and topography anomalies. Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. 9:415-48
108. Watts AB, RyanWBF. 1976. Flexure of the lithosphere and continental margin basins. Tectonophysics 36:25-44
109. Watts AB, Zhong S. 2000. Observations of flexure and the rheology of oceanic lithosphere. Geophys. J. Int. 142:855-75
110. Willett SD, Chapman DS, Neugebauer HJ. 1985. A thermo-mechanical model of continental lithosphere. Nature 314:520-23
111. Wright TJ, Elliot J, Wang H, Ryder I. 2013. Earthquake cycle deformation and the Moho: implications for the rheology of continental lithosphere. Tectonophysics. In press
112. Yamasaki T, Houseman GA. 2012. The crustal viscosity gradient measured from post-seismic deformation: a case study of the 1997 Manyi (Tibet) earthquake. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 351-352:105-14
113. Zhang N, Zhong SJ, Flowers RM. 2012. Predicting and testing continental vertical motion histories since the Paleozoic. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 317-318:426-35
114. ZhengY,Arkani-Hamed J. 2002. Rigidity of theAtlantic oceanic lithosphere beneathNew England seamounts. Tectonophysics 359:359-69
115. Zhong S. 1997. Dynamics of crustal compensation and its influences on crustal isostasy. J. Geophys. Res. 102:15287-99
116. Zhong S. 2002. Effects of lithosphere on the long-wavelength gravity anomalies and their implications for the formation of the Tharsis rise on Mars. J. Geophys. Res. 107(E7):8-1-13
117. Zhong S, Paulson A, Wahr J. 2003. Three-dimensional finite element modelling of Earth's viscoelastic deformation: effects of lateral variations in lithospheric thickness. Geophys. J. Int. 155:679-95