The fan wavelet method for elastic thickness estimation – synthetic and real examples

Abstract: A variety of methods exist to estimate the elastic thickness (Te) of the lithosphere. In this presentation, we attempt to provide an indication of how well the fan wavelet coherence method recovers Te, through synthetic modelling. The Te distributions we use here have elliptical and fractal geometries, while the initial loads are fractal. Importantly, we have found that this widely-used synthetic loading method will tend to result in under-estimates of Te no matter which recovery method is used. In contrast to the coherence, Te recovery from the admittance is highly "noisy", with discontinuities and over-estimates of Te frequently arising. The presentation will also show our estimated Te values over Europe, Australia, Africa, and North and South America, and provides a short discussion on coupled/ decoupled continental lithosphere. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Séminaires Etudes spatiales et planétologie ------------------------------------------------------------------------