Topographic relief and sediment thickness: Their effects on the thermal evolution of the oceanic crust

Abstract

We compiled a suite of 490 heat flow measurements from the Pacific Ocean in areas with less than 85 m of sediment. Heat flow patterns at different basement ages vary with topographic relief. Areas with reliefs 300 meters are conductively blanketed at 70–90 m.y. and convect out to ≥ 90–110 m.y