Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 10.1 North Atlantic plate configuration around 62 Ma, simplified from Nielsen
et al
.
(
2007
)
,
showing the axes of European inversion structures formed in the Late Cretaceous-Paleocene (thick
black dashed lines). Grey background represents continental and continental shelf areas, white back-
ground oceanic (with the double line being the Atlantic spreading centre) and deep marine areas.
Light grey areas labelled “V” represent areas of major magmatism around this time, which was also
the time of “secondary inversion” of the inversion structures. White dotted box shows the location of
the more detailed map of
Figure 10.3
.
horizontal gradients of pressure variations at the base of the lithosphere. The last gives rise
to dynamic topography.
10.2.1 Model of lithospheric stress from potential energy variations
Lateral variations in the density structure of the lithosphere, and lateral pressure variations
in the mantle below the lithosphere due to density contrasts and related convection, mean
that the lithostatic pressure obtained as the weight of the rock column above a certain
depth below sea level depends on location. These differences in lithostatic pressure are
balanced by (mainly) horizontal stresses within the lithosphere. It can be demonstrated that
