Publication: Effective elastic thicknesses of the lithosphere in the Central Iberian
Peninsula from heat flow: Implications for the rheology of the
continental lithospheric mantle.
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Publication Date
2006
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Elsevier Science B.V
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Abstract
The traditional view of the rheology of the continental lithosphere, sometimes known as the “jelly sandwich model”, consists of
a strong upper crust, a weak lower crust, and a strong upper lithospheric mantle. Some authors argue, however, that the lithospheric
mantle is weak and contributes little to the total strength and the effective elastic thickness of the lithosphere; this weakness is
claimed to be due to the mantle being wet or subjected to temperatures higher than usually believed. This paper uses the relationship
between rheology of the lithosphere and heat flow to calculate theoretical effective elastic thicknesses for three regions of the central
Iberian Peninsula (the Duero Basin, the Spanish Central System and the Tajo Basin), taking into account the contribution of the
crust and the lithospheric mantle, for dry and wet rheologies. We found that a wet peridotite rheology for the lithospheric mantle is
generally consistent with independent (based on Bouguer coherence or flexural modeling) estimates of the effective elastic thickness
for the study area, whereas a dry peridotite rheology cannot be reconciled with them. Moreover, the contribution of the mantle to
the bending moment of the lithosphere, and therefore to both the effective elastic thickness and the total strength of the lithosphere,
is important, and it may even be the dominant contribution. Therefore, the jelly sandwich model may be considered valid for the
central Iberian Peninsula.