Sediment blanketing and the flexural strength of extended continental lithosphere

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The flexural rigidity of the oceanic lithosphere is strongly dependent on its temperature structure at the time of loading. It is commonly assumed that the depth to the 450°C isotherm defines the effective elastic thickness Te of the lithosphere. However, recent gravity studies across the Baltimore Canyon and Nova Scotian margins suggest that temperature may play a more complicated role in controlling the mechanical strength of extended continental lithosphere. For example, the flexural strength of the Baltimore Canyon margin (with sediment thicknesses of ≅ 15 km) appears to be controlled by the depth to the 150°C isotherm whereas the strength of the Nova Scotian margin (with sediment thicknesses cf ≅ 10 km) is controlled by the depth to the 250°C isotherm. The apparent correlation between sediment thickness and controlling isotherm suggests that sediment blanketing may play a role in modifying the flexural strength of extended continental lithosphere. This hypothesis was investigated by simulating the sedimentation history of a margin as a Gaussian function in which sedimentation peak and rate are determined by the mean and standard deviation of the function. The temperature structure of the lithosphere is continually modified as sediments are deposited on, and incorporated into the temperature structure of, the underlying lithosphere. Given a ‘starting’ value of Te defined by the degree of extension of the lithosphere, the modification of Te appears to be directly proportional to the sedimentation rate and cumulative sediment thickness, and inversely proportional to the time at which the sedimentation rate is a maximum. The first‐order consequence of sediment blanketing is to reduce the cooling rate of the lithosphere relative to cooling in the absence of sediments. At thermal equilibrium, the initial value of Te is reduced by the cumulative sediment thickness. Local isostatic conditions (i. e. Te≅ 0) can only be approached when the sedimentation rate is unrealistically high (> 1000 m/Myr) during the rift or early post‐rift phase of basin development. However, while these early loads may be locally compensated, any subsequent loads will be regionally compensated. Thus, it is unlikely that the low present‐day flexural strengths interpreted from the Baltimore Canyon and Nova Scotian passive continental margins are a consequence of sediment blanketing.