Ridge volume dependence on seafloor generation rate and inversion using long term sealevel change.

Abstract

The basic quantitative distinction between global oceanic ridge volume and the global rate of seafloor generation is made fully explicit. From this, the question of inversion over time from the former quantity into the latter is then posed using a generalized expression to approximate global subduction zone distribution. Two numerical methods are described. Then, assuming the hypothesis that long-term (108 yr) eustatic sealevel change is due primarily to changing ridge volume, an inversion of a widely cited Phanerozoic sealevel curve (Vail) is also presented. The approach taken here is expected to be of direct importance for quantitative models of the carbonate-silicate cycle which seek to develop scenarios for atmospheric carbon dioxide variation over geologic time scales. Indeed, the testing of sealevel inversion, as performed here, may ultimately come from its degree of correspondence with past climate variation.-Author