NUMERICAL MODELLING OF LITHOSPHERE EVOLUTION IN THE NORTH CHINA CRATON:THERMAL THINNING VERSUS TECTONIC EXTENSION THINNING

The boundary between lithosphere and asthenosphere essentially represents a thermal boundary (the solidus).Temperature variation across this boundary can lead to the change of lithosphere thickness.In the case of elevated temperatures in a lithospheric layer above 1 200℃,partial melting will begin and the result of that is a thinned lithosphere.The other mechanism that can also thin lithosphere is extension.