Heat flow in the eastern pacific and sea floor spreading

A simple model based on the hypothesis of sea floor spreading can account for the main features of two major high heat flow anomalies in the eastern Pacific; the broad band of high values along the crest of the East Pacific Rise and the large concentration of high values centered on the Galapagos Rift Zone. Using the same model to interpret both the surface shape of the midocean ridges and the heat loss of the entire ridge system, the calculated elevation is found to be comparable, though smaller than, that observed for the ridges and the heat dissipated by crustal production along the axis of the entire ridge system is shown to be approximately 15% of the total heat loss through the oceans.