EFFECTIVE ELASTIC THICKNESS OF THE LITHOSPHERE - A REVIEW

This paper outlines the application of effective elastic thickness in continental and oceanic lithospheres. By means of this approach, a great deal of data about flexural rigidity and flexural characteristics of lithospheres are obtained in the oceanic ridge and its flanks, on hotspots or swells, on passive and active continental margins. With these data, geologists have more close insights into the flexural processes of the oceanic and continental lithosphere loaded by the volcanoes or seamounts and sediments, and sediments in terms of geodynamics. As a suggestion, we think that the approach of effective elastic thickness should be used for studying the continental margins of East Asia, as in the Okinawa Trough, the Taiwan orogenic belt and the South China Sea Basin.