We are studying possible tectonic mechanisms for the formation enigmatic lineations observed in the gravity field of the Pacific. Our approach includes power spectral analysis of marine gravity and bathymetry, as well as theoretical modeling of the nucleation and amplification of extensional instabilities in oceanic lithosphere as it cools away from a mid-ocean ridge.
Neumann, G.A., and M.T. Zuber, Diffuse extension and lithospheric boudinage, submitted to J. Geophys. Res., 1998.
address comments to:
Greg Neumann ( neumann@tharsis.gsfc.nasa.gov )