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. 1962 Mar 1;45(4):243-51.
doi: 10.1085/jgp.45.4.243.

Some Seismic Profiles near the Western End of the Puerto Rico Trench

J Northrop  1 , M Ransone
Affiliations

Some Seismic Profiles near the Western End of the Puerto Rico Trench

J Northrop et al. J Gen Physiol. .

Abstract

A cooperative program of seismic refraction profiling was completed in the vicinity of the Puerto Rico Trench by Hudson Laboratories, Woods Hole, Lamont, and Texas A. & M. Profiles completed near the western end of the Trench were analyzed at Hudson Laboratories. Five seismic layers are indicated below the water layer. The thickness/velocity relationships are as follows: 5.1 km of 1.5 km/sec. (water); 1 km of 1.7 km/sec. (sediment); 1.5 km of 3 km/sec. (metamorphics?); 2 km of 5.5 km/sec. (basement); and 2 km of 7.1 km/sec. (high speed basement). Below these, typical Moho velocities of 8.1 km/sec. were measured. Total depth to Moho ranges from 9 to 12 km below sea level, the greatest variation occurring in the basement layers. The least depth was measured 65 miles north of the Puerto Rico Trench.

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