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Continental rifting - Progress and outlookIt is noted that in spite of the flood of new data on continental rifts in the last 15 years, there is little consensus about the basic mechanisms and causes of rifting. The remarkable similarities in rift cross sections (shown in a figure), are considered to suggest that the anomalous lithospheric structure of rifts is more dependent on lithosphere properties than the mode of rifting. It is thought that there is a spectrum of rifting processes for which two fundamental mechanisms can be postulated: an active mechanism, whereby thermal energy is transmitted into the lithosphere from the underlying asthenosphere, and a passive mechanism by which mechanical energy is transmitted laterally through the lithosphere as a consequence of plate interactions at a distance. In order to permit the concept of the two fundamentally different mechanisms to be tested, a tentative classification is proposed that divides rifts into two basic categories: active rifting and passive rifting. Here, the magnitude of active rifting will depend on the rate at which lithosphere moves over the thermal source, with rifts being restricted to stationary or slow-moving plates.
Document ID
19810063492
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Baker, B. H.
(Oregon, University Eugene, OR, United States)
Morgan, P.
(Lunar and Planetary Institute Houston, TX, United States)
Date Acquired
August 11, 2013
Publication Date
July 21, 1981
Publication Information
Publication: EOS
Volume: 62
Subject Category
Geophysics
Accession Number
81A47896
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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