Speaker
Description
Oceanic lithosphere cycling produces critical resources to economy and governs the occurrence various natural hazards from earthquakes to volcanic eruptions. Only a small portion of the shallow lithosphere is explored. The physical nature and geological meaning of the upper and lower crust boundaries and Mohorovičić discontinuity (Moho) between the oceanic crust and mantle are not yet fully understood. Direct observations of oceanic crust were conducted in two oceanic drilling holes, however the Moho has not yet been reached [1]. Former Moho transition zones are exposed on land in numerous ophiolites around the world, thus the ophiolites are very important clue to understand the correlation between ocean crust-mantle structure and geology. The Oman ophiolites is the most promising analogue for oceanic lithosphere [2]. We will conduct muography of the Oman ophiolite to understand the density stratification of the oceanic crust to mantle, which regulates the geological structure of the oceanic crust to mantle. We discuss the scientific background, the simulation studies and the design of the muographic surveys.
[1] Koppers, A.A.P., Coggon, R. Exploring Earth by Scientific Ocean Drilling: 2050 Science Framework, 124 pp (2020) https://doi.org/10.6075/J0W66J9H
[2] Searle, M, Cox, J. Tectonic setting, origin, and obduction of the Oman ophiolite, GSA Bulletin, 111, 104-122 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1999)111<0104:TSOAOO>2.3.CO;2
