Lithosphere-Asthenosphere boundary a thermal control of oceanic-lithosphere thickness. The continental lithosphere contains an ancient, stable part known as the craton. The LAB is particularly difficult to study in these regions and evidence suggests that the lithosphere within this old part of the continent is at it thickest and even appears to exhibit large variations in thickness beneath the cratons, thus supporting the theory that lithosphere thickness and LAB depth are age-dependent. Depths of the LAB beneath these regions (also known as shields and platforms) are estimated to be between 200 and 250 km deep. Beneath Phanerozoic continental crust, the LAB is roughly
Lithosphere his seminal work "Strength and Structure of the Earth." They have been broadly accepted by geologists and geophysicists. These concepts of a strong lithosphere resting on a weak asthenosphere are essential to the theory of plate tectonics. There are two types of lithosphere: The thickness of the lithosphere is considered to be the depth to the isotherm associated with the transition between brittle and viscous behavior. The temperature at which olivine begins to deform viscously (~1000 °C) is often used to set this isotherm because olivine is generally the weakest mineral in the upper mantle. Oceanic lithosphere is typically about