THE POSSIBILITY OF DETERMINING THE DEPTH OF THE MOHOROVICIC DISCONTINUITY FOR A THREE-LAYER EARTH'S CRUST,
Abstract
There are two opposite points of view about the nature of the surface dividing the earth's crust from the mantle, i.e. the Mohorovicic discontinuity. Some investigators think that the reason for the abrupt change of seismic velocities and density on the Moho is a difference in the chemical composition of the lower part of the earth's crust and upper mantle--basaltic in the earth's crust and peridotite or dunite in the mantle. Others regard it as a boundary on which a phase transition of the basaltic into a denser modification of it of the type of eclogite occurs. If the phase nature of the Moho is taken as a basis, it is possible to arrive at a quantitative solution of the problem of determination of the thickness of the basaltic layer or the depth of occurrence of the Moho as a function of the depths of the sedimentary and granitic layers for the continental sections of the earth's crust. That becomes possible because the position of the Moho is determined by values of pressure and temperature, the distribution of which at a given thickness of the crust can be established. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1970
- Accession Number
- AD0713722
Entities
People
- I. Sh. Rakhimova
Organizations
- University of Michigan