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Quantitative Relationships Between Basalt Geochemistry, Shear Wave Velocity, and Asthenospheric Temperature Beneath Western North America

Western North America has an average elevation that is ∼2 km higher than cratonic North America. This difference coincides with a westward decrease in average lithospheric thickness from ∼240 to 260 basaltic samples. Forward and inverse modeling of carefully selected major, trace, and rare earth ele...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geochemistry, geophysics, geosystems : G3 geophysics, geosystems : G3, 2018-09, Vol.19 (9), p.3376-3404
Main Authors: Klöcking, M., White, N. J., Maclennan, J., McKenzie, D., Fitton, J. G.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Western North America has an average elevation that is ∼2 km higher than cratonic North America. This difference coincides with a westward decrease in average lithospheric thickness from ∼240 to 260 basaltic samples. Forward and inverse modeling of carefully selected major, trace, and rare earth elements were used to determine melt fraction as a function of depth. Basaltic melt appears to have been generated by adiabatic decompression of dry peridotite with asthenospheric potential temperatures of 1340 ± 20 °C. Potential temperatures as high as 1365 °C were obtained for the Snake River Plain. For the youngest (i.e.,
ISSN:1525-2027
1525-2027
DOI:10.1029/2018GC007559