On the flexural rigidity and effective viscosity of the lithosphere in the Hawaiian area

Kunze, A. W. Gerhard

doi:10.1016/0040-1951(80)90208-5

Cited by 10 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 16 publications

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“…There have been a number of previous studies that have estimated the elastic thickness of the lithosphere, T e , in the vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands (e.g., Gunn, 1943; Kunze, 1980; McNutt & Shure, 1986; Suyenaga, 1979; Walcott, 1970; Watts, 1978, 1979; Watts & Cochran, 1974; Watts & ten Brink, 1989; Wessel, 1993; Zhong & Watts, 2013). Of relevance to this study are the estimates of Watts and ten Brink (1989), Wessel (1993), and Zhong and Watts (2013), each of which were based on the RC2308 legacy seismic data set.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reprocessing of Legacy Seismic Reflection Profile Data and Its Implications for Plate Flexure in the Vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands

Cilli,

Watts,

Boston

et al. 2023

JGR Solid Earth

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During 1975‐1988, an academic research ship, R/V Robert D. Conrad, acquired more than 150,000‐line‐km of multichannel seismic reflection profile data from each of the world’s main ocean basins and their margins. This extensive legacy seismic data set, which involved both single ship and two‐ship data acquisition, has been widely used by the marine geoscience community. We report on our experience in reprocessing seismic reflection profile data acquired during Conrad cruise RC2308 to the Hawaiian Islands region in August/September 1982. We show that the application of modern, industry standard processing techniques, including filtering, de‐bubble, deconvolution and migration, can significantly enhance 40+ year old legacy seismic reflection profile data. The reprocessed data reveals more precisely, and with much less scatter, the flexure of Cretaceous Pacific oceanic crust caused by the Pliocene‐Recent volcanic loads that comprise the Hawaiian Islands. A comparison of observed picks of top oceanic crust which has been corrected for the Hawaiian swell and the Molokai Fracture Zone with the calculations of a simple 3‐dimensional elastic plate (flexure) model reveals a best fit elastic plate thickness of the lithosphere, Te, of 26.7 km, an average infill density of 2701 kg m‐3, and a Root Mean Square (RMS) difference between observations and calculations of 305 m. Tests show these results depend weakly on the load density assumed and that the average infill density is close to what would be predicted from an arithmetic average of the flanking moat infill density and the infill density that immediately underlies the volcanic edifice.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reprocessing of Legacy Seismic Reflection Profile Data and Its Implications for Plate Flexure in the Vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands

Cilli,

Watts,

Boston

et al. 2023

JGR Solid Earth

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Lithospheric flexure under the Hawaiian volcanic load: Internal stresses and a broken plate revealed by earthquakes

Klein

2016

JGR Solid Earth

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Several lines of earthquake evidence indicate that the lithospheric plate is broken under the load of the island of Hawai`i, where the geometry of the lithosphere is circular with a central depression. The plate bends concave downward surrounding a stress‐free hole, rather than bending concave upward as with past assumptions. Earthquake focal mechanisms show that the center of load stress and the weak hole is between the summits of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea where the load is greatest. The earthquake gap at 21 km depth coincides with the predicted neutral plane of flexure where horizontal stress changes sign. Focal mechanism P axes below the neutral plane display a striking radial pattern pointing to the stress center. Earthquakes above the neutral plane in the north part of the island have opposite stress patterns; T axes tend to be radial. The M6.2 Honomu and M6.7 Kiholo main shocks (both at 39 km depth) are below the neutral plane and show radial compression, and the M6.0 Kiholo aftershock above the neutral plane has tangential compression. Earthquakes deeper than 20 km define a donut of seismicity around the stress center where flexural bending is a maximum. The hole is interpreted as the soft center where the lithospheric plate is broken. Kilauea's deep conduit is seismically active because it is in the ring of maximum bending. A simplified two‐dimensional stress model for a bending slab with a load at one end yields stress orientations that agree with earthquake stress axes and radial P axes below the neutral plane. A previous inversion of deep Hawaiian focal mechanisms found a circular solution around the stress center that agrees with the model. For horizontal faults, the shear stress within the bending slab matches the slip in the deep Kilauea seismic zone and enhances outward slip of active flanks.

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Some aspects of viscous stress relaxation and intraplate seismicity

Kunze

1982

Tectonophysics

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On the flexural rigidity and effective viscosity of the lithosphere in the Hawaiian area

Cited by 10 publications

References 16 publications

Reprocessing of Legacy Seismic Reflection Profile Data and Its Implications for Plate Flexure in the Vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands

Reprocessing of Legacy Seismic Reflection Profile Data and Its Implications for Plate Flexure in the Vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands

Lithospheric flexure under the Hawaiian volcanic load: Internal stresses and a broken plate revealed by earthquakes

Some aspects of viscous stress relaxation and intraplate seismicity

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