Abstract
1 New thermal data from 18-24 Ma lithosphere on the Cocos Plate
delineate contrasting subsurface thermal conditions in adjacent sections
of crust. Heat flow through seafloor created at the East Pacific
Rise is generally suppressed by similar to70% relative to conductive
lithospheric cooling models, whereas heat flow through adjacent,
similarly-aged lithosphere generated at the Cocos-Nazca Spreading
Center is consistent with these models. The transition between thermal
regimes is remarkably abrupt, only 2-5 km wide, indicating a shallow
hydrothermal origin. The transition is more closely associated with
differences in the distribution of basement outcrops than with tectonic
boundaries, demonstrating the importance of the former in extracting
heat from the lithosphere on a regional basis.
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