The Lau Basin and a Seismic Image of the Mantle (IMAGE)

Washington University in St. Louis

The Lau Basin and a Seismic Image of the Mantle

Caption

The Lau Basin, in the South Pacific (top), is a V-shaped basin created by the subduction of the Pacific Plate at the Tonga Trench (the purple line in the central image). A seismic image (bottom) of part of the basin at a depth of 50 kilometers (31 miles) shows magma pooling to the north beneath areas that are unrifted (dark red) and provide no egress but little magma (pale yellow) along the southern end of the Eastern Lau Spreading Center, or ELSC, even though this area is intensely volcanic.

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Wei/Wiens

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