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Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons

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Faculty Publications

1987

Islands

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

A 3-D Gravity Tectonic Study Of Ita Mai Tai Guyot: An Uncompensated Seamount In The East Mariana Basin, Bruce S. Wedgeworth, James N. Kellogg Jan 1987

A 3-D Gravity Tectonic Study Of Ita Mai Tai Guyot: An Uncompensated Seamount In The East Mariana Basin, Bruce S. Wedgeworth, James N. Kellogg

Faculty Publications

Ita Mai Tai is a large, locally uncompensated seamount on the eastern edge of the East Mariana Basin. A large positive gravity anomaly of 254 mgal characterizes the summit and a low of -69 mgal, the surrounding moat. Using polygonal prisms to approximate the bathymetry, the observed gravity was inverted to calculate an average density of 2.59 g/ems for the seamount. Observed-calculated gravity residuals are reduced by including the flanking sedimentary basins and a dense volcanic conduit. The drill sites from DSDP Legs 20 and 89 describe a volcanic edifice formed in the Aptian!Albian on Jmassic/Cretaceous crust. The volcanism is …


Isostatic Compensation And Conduit Structures Of Western Pacific Seamounts: Results Of Three-Dimensional Gravity Modeling, James N. Kellogg, Bruce S. Wedgeworth, Jeffrey T. Freymueller Jan 1987

Isostatic Compensation And Conduit Structures Of Western Pacific Seamounts: Results Of Three-Dimensional Gravity Modeling, James N. Kellogg, Bruce S. Wedgeworth, Jeffrey T. Freymueller

Faculty Publications

Detailed three-dimensional polygonal prism models of two large western Pacific seamounts show that the 135 mgal difference in the observed sea surface gravity over the two can be best explained by similar mean densities (2.6 gjcm3) and crustal thickening under one seamount (Airy isostatic compensation). Observed calculated residuals are further reduced by including dense (2.9 gjcm3) vertical feeder pipes or volcanic conduits in the models. Dense conduits or fracture zones 5 to 17 km in diameter are located under many, if not all, craters on volcanic islands and seamounts. Results from the detailed seamount studies can be generalized using exact …