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Rift propagationA model for rift propagation which treats the rift as a crack in an elastic plate which is filled from beneath by upwelling viscous asthenosphere as it lengthens and opens. Growth of the crack is driven by either remotely applied forces or the pressure of buoyant asthenosphere in the crack and is resisted by viscous stresses associated with filling the crack. The model predicts a time for a rift to form which depends primarily on the driving stress and asthenosphere viscosity. For a driving stress on the order of 10 MPa, as expected from the topography of rifted swells, the development of rifts over times of a few Myr requires an asthenosphere viscosity of 10 to the 16th Pa s (10 to the 17th poise). This viscosity, which is several orders of magnitude less than values determined by postglacial rebound and at least one order of magnitude less than that inferred for spreading center propagation, may reflect a high temperature or large amount of partial melting in the mantle beneath a rifted swell.
Document ID
19890042926
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Parmentier, E. M.
(Brown University Providence, RI, United States)
Schubert, G.
(California, University Los Angeles, United States)
Date Acquired
August 14, 2013
Publication Date
February 1, 1989
Publication Information
Publication: Geophysical Research Letters
Volume: 16
ISSN: 0094-8276
Subject Category
Geophysics
Accession Number
89A30297
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAG5-152
CONTRACT_GRANT: NSF OCE-86-13946
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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