Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-4rdrl Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-25T00:28:11.286Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

5 - Isostatic Response Functions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 September 2023

A. B. Watts
Affiliation:
University of Oxford
Get access

Summary

During the 1970s to 2000s, more than 180 studies of the elastic thickness of the lithosphere were published. The results of these studies have provided a wealth of new information on the long-term mechanical properties of the lithosphere and their relationship to plate and load age. Although the results of individual studies are subject to uncertainties, the analysis of large, global data sets tends to ‘smooth’ out local discrepancies and, hence, make it more likely they will reveal the main features that describe the long-term behaviour of the lithosphere.

Oceanic and continental flexure studies suggest that the long-term behaviour of the lithosphere can be modelled, to first order, as a thin elastic plate that overlies an inviscid fluid. The thickness of the elastic plate, Te, varies both spatially and temporally, and this has provided information on the relationship between load and plate age.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

  • Isostatic Response Functions
  • A. B. Watts, University of Oxford
  • Book: Isostasy and Flexure of the Lithosphere
  • Online publication: 28 September 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781139027748.007
Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Isostatic Response Functions
  • A. B. Watts, University of Oxford
  • Book: Isostasy and Flexure of the Lithosphere
  • Online publication: 28 September 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781139027748.007
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Isostatic Response Functions
  • A. B. Watts, University of Oxford
  • Book: Isostasy and Flexure of the Lithosphere
  • Online publication: 28 September 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781139027748.007
Available formats
×