Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Testing the use of aeromagnetic data for the determination of Curie depth in California

January 1, 2006

Using California as a test region, we have examined the feasibility of using Curie-isotherm depths, estimated from magnetic anomalies, as a proxy for lithospheric thermal structure. Our method follows previous studies by dividing a regional aeromagnetic database into overlapping subregions and analyzing the power-density spectrum of each subregion, but we have improved on previous studies in two important ways: We increase subregion dimensions in a stepwise manner until long-wavelength anomalies are appropriately sampled, and each subregion spectrum determined from the magnetic anomalies is manually fit with a theoretical expression that directly yields the depth to the bottom of the magnetic layer. Using this method, we have obtained Curie-isotherm depths for California that show a general inverse correlation with measured heat flow, as expected. The Coast Ranges of California are characterized by high heat flow (80-85 mW/m2) and shallow Curie depths (20-30 km), whereas the Great Valley has low heat flow (less than 50 mW/m2) and deeper Curie depths (30-45 km). ?? 2006 Society of Exploration Geophysicists.

Publication Year 2006
Title Testing the use of aeromagnetic data for the determination of Curie depth in California
DOI 10.1190/1.2335572
Authors H.E. Ross, R. J. Blakely, M.D. Zoback
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title Geophysics
Index ID 70028398
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse