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How supercontinents and superoceans affect seafloor roughness

Author

Listed:
  • Joanne M. Whittaker

    (Earthbyte Group, School of Geosciences, Building F09, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
    Present address: GETECH, Kitson House, Elmete Hall, Elmete Lane, Leeds LS8 2LJ, UK.)

  • R. Dietmar Müller

    (Earthbyte Group, School of Geosciences, Building F09, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia)

  • Walter R. Roest

    (Ifremer, Centre de Brest, BP 70, 29280 Plouzané, France)

  • Paul Wessel

    (SOEST, University of Hawaii at Mānoa, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, USA)

  • Walter H. F. Smith

    (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910, USA)

Abstract

Seafloor topography: taking the rough with the smooth Whether the seafloor is rough or smooth can have a considerable influence on the circulation and mixing of heat in the ocean and on the dissipation of eddy kinetic energy. The role of seafloor spreading rates in controlling oceanic basement topography is well known. Now a global analysis of seafloor roughness derived from marine gravity data reveals that residual roughness anomalies remain over large swaths of ocean floor: Atlantic ocean floor that formed over mantle previously overlain by the Pangaea supercontinent is anomalously smooth, whereas ocean crust formed above Pacific superswells retains the predicted basement roughness. These results highlight a fundamental difference in the nature of large-scale mantle upwellings below supercontinents and superoceans and provide a framework for reconstructing the seafloor of ancient oceans.

Suggested Citation

  • Joanne M. Whittaker & R. Dietmar Müller & Walter R. Roest & Paul Wessel & Walter H. F. Smith, 2008. "How supercontinents and superoceans affect seafloor roughness," Nature, Nature, vol. 456(7224), pages 938-941, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:456:y:2008:i:7224:d:10.1038_nature07573
    DOI: 10.1038/nature07573
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