Faster spreading or greater ridge length in the Archean?

Abstract

Research Article| September 01, 1986 Faster spreading or greater ridge length in the Archean? R. B. Hargraves R. B. Hargraves 1Department of Geological and Geophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information R. B. Hargraves 1Department of Geological and Geophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544 Publisher: Geological Society of America First Online: 01 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 Geological Society of America Geology (1986) 14 (9): 750–752. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1986)14<750:FSOGRL>2.0.CO;2 Article history First Online: 01 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation R. B. Hargraves; Faster spreading or greater ridge length in the Archean?. Geology 1986;; 14 (9): 750–752. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1986)14<750:FSOGRL>2.0.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Dissipation of more heat from a hotter early Earth by the plate-tectonics mechanism would require subduction of, on average, younger lithosphere. In principle, this could be achieved equally well by faster spreading, by having greater ridge length, or some combination thereof. Present-day evidence, however, suggests that younger oceanic lithosphere subducts more slowly than older; if this applied in the Archean, then the "greater ridge length" alternative prevailed. A quantitative expression is derived which indicates that oceanic heat loss is proportional to the cube root of ridge length. This relationship means that if Archean heat flow was 3 times that of the present, 27 times as much ridge would have been required, which would suggest that the Archean Earth was covered by many small plates moving slowly. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.