On Apr 23, 6:54=A0pm, "William P. Baird" <anzha...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> it's possible that it might cause the failed continental rifting there
to
> start once again.
I'm not certain of that. To be specific, I'd not expect a mid-plate
rift to open due to a weakness in the plate, but due to a change in
the deep convection under the plate. After all, on the scale of plate
tectonics, *all* plates are weak (that's why you get mountain or
trenches, and not two plates colliding and stopping).
As to surface effects, I'm not sure I can see a lot of potential
difference between a hot-spot trace near the edge vs in the center of
a continental plate, since the bulk of the material is being sourced
from below the crust itself. However, heat flow might be different,
possibly changing the nature of the deep convection over loooong time
due to the "insulating" nature of the thicker crust. If we knew *why*
you have hot-spots, perhaps somebody could tell you what might happen
to them if you warm the upper mantle in them, reducing the gradient...
but we don't have that good a grasp of them, I suspect.
--
Brian Davis
=A0It depends on how long it stays under the rift
> and its track as it leaves.
>
> Potentially, the results might be quite interesting.
>
> =A0Will
>
> --
> William P Baird =A0 =A0 =A0 Do you know why the road less traveled by
> Home: anzhalyu@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
has so few sightseers? =A0Normally, there
> Work: wba...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
is something big, mean, with very sharp
> Blog: thedragonstales teeth - and quite the appetite! - waiting
> + com/v/.blogspot.com somewhere along its dark and twisty bends.
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