AN ESTIMATION OF THE ELASTIC THICKNESS OF THE LITHOSPHERE IN THE CANARY ARCHIPELAGO USING ADMITTANCE FUNCTION

A recent compilation of shipborne gravity and bathymetry data has been used to determine the Effective Elastic Thickness (EET) of the lithos phere beneath the Canary Islands volcanic complex by means of the admi ttance technique. As a first approach, we have computed the admittance , which is interpreted in terms of isotropic elastic plate thickness, with an EET of 23 km. Nevertheless, the proximity of the West African Continental Margin (WACM), together with the lateral variability in li thosphere structure in part caused by the large volcanic history of th e Canaries, require a slightly different approach. To minimize the inf luence of the margin and to check whether or not any significant varia tion in EET occurs related to the known Canary hotspot, we have comput ed the admittance following the isochron lines. The results show a hig her EET (35 km) than that obtained by the first approach but slightly smaller than that predicted by the cooling plate model.