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Lithospheric thickness of the Chinese continent
We invert for the upper-mantle temperatures of the Chinese continent in the depth range of 70–240 km from a recent S-velocity model. The depth where temperatures intersect a mantle adiabat with a potential temperature of ∼1300 °C is in close correspondence with the top of the seismic low velocity zo...
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Published in: | Physics of the earth and planetary interiors 2006-12, Vol.159 (3), p.257-266 |
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Main Authors: | , |
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Subjects: | |
Citations: | Items that this one cites Items that cite this one |
Online Access: | Get full text |
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Summary: | We invert for the upper-mantle temperatures of the Chinese continent in the depth range of 70–240
km from a recent S-velocity model. The depth where temperatures intersect a mantle adiabat with a potential temperature of ∼1300
°C is in close correspondence with the top of the seismic low velocity zone for most regions. This correspondence implies that seismic lithosphere estimated from short-time scale seismic information may be equivalent to the long-time scale geodynamical lithosphere. Defining the 1300
°C adiabat as coinciding with the lithospheric base, we estimate the seismic-thermal lithosphere thickness. The estimated thickness shows obvious dependence on the tectonic settings. Beneath eastern China, which mainly belongs to the circum-Pacific tectonic domain, it has a thickness of ∼100
km; and beneath the Qinghai–Tibet plateau and south to the Tarim craton, which belong to the Tethyan tectonic domain it has a thickness of ∼160–220
km. The lithospheric thicknesses of the three large para-platforms/cratons range from ∼170
km for the western Yangtze, ∼140
km for Tarim, and ∼100
km for Sino-Korean. The three cratons may have been reshaped by Phanerozoic tectonic activities and are thinner than most cratons in other continents. |
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ISSN: | 0031-9201 1872-7395 |
DOI: | 10.1016/j.pepi.2006.08.002 |