Publication Date:
2022-02-02
Description:
The Lau Basin is a back-arc region formed by the subduction of the Pacific plate below the
Australian plate. We studied the regional morphology of the back-arc spreading centers of the
Northern Lau basin, and we compared it to their relative spreading rates. We obtained a value of
60.2 mm/year along the Northwest Lau Spreading Centers based on magnetic data, improving on
the spreading rate literature data. Furthermore, we carried out numerical models including viscoplastic
rheologies and prescribed surface velocities, in an upper plate-fixed reference frame.
Although our thermal model points to a high temperature only near the Tonga trench, the model of
the second invariant of the strain rate shows active deformation in the mantle from the Tonga trench
to ~800 km along the overriding plate. This explains the anomalous magmatic production along all
the volcanic centers in the Northern Lau Back-Arc Basin.
Description:
Published
Description:
50
Description:
3A. Geofisica marina e osservazioni multiparametriche a fondo mare
Description:
JCR Journal
Repository Name:
Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
Type:
article
