A. Agnon et V. Lyakhovsky, OCEANIC TOPOGRAPHY AND HEATFLOW - INDICATIONS FOR A SILENT DISCHARGE OF COLD ROCK INTO THE CONVECTING EARTH, Geophysical research letters, 22(10), 1995, pp. 1273-1276
The 2.5 km mean relative elevation of mid ocean ridges is arguably con
sistent with a steady state thickness of approximate to 100 km for the
oceanic lithosphere. Here we explore some consequences of this partic
ular value. Based on seismic models of the uppermost oceanic mantle, w
e infer that no significant heat is added to normal asthenosphere foll
owing accretion at spreading centers, Therefore we adopt the view that
kinematic thinning moderates the conductive thickening to yield the s
teady state thickness of approximate to 100 km. We devise a method for
estimating mean rates of thinning directly from topography-age data,
with no assumptions on the detailed dynamics of delamination. We find
that delamination delivers a significant fraction (>20%) of the global
downwelling discharge. This large non subducting discharge of cold li
thospheric material provides an explanation for the most robust featur
es of upper-mantle tomography, and should be considered in studies of
mantle cooling and mixing.