Age estimation of the Solomon Sea based on heat flow data

摘要

Several heat flow measurements were made during the NAT83 cruise in the central part of the Solomon Sea Basin. The average value of 87 mW/m2(2.08 HFU) calculated from these and other data indicates that the age of the Solomon Sea Basin may range from 24 to 44 Ma. This is supported by the water depth, of approximately 4,500 m, versus age relationship. There is a possibility that the Solomon Sea Basin is not a back-arc basin associated with an arc but was formerly a relatively large oceanic plate. The agreement in age from both heat flow and water depth data favors the latter hypothesis.