The Palmason model is a depth, distance, temperature and heat flow gradient model of crustal accretion mechanism through the
Iceland lithosphere
A lithosphere () is the rigid, outermost rocky shell of a terrestrial planet or natural satellite. On Earth, it is composed of the crust (geology), crust and the portion of the upper mantle (geology), mantle that behaves elastically on time sca ...
which denotes the spreading material trajectories from a rift axis. The material erupting at the rift axis will tend to sink down, due to thermal subsidence and spreading, to a depth of many kilometers, while lava flows spreading to a distance of many kilometers away from the rift axis on the surface will sink down to shallower depth. Surface erosion can expose such preserved materials.
The model was developed in the 1970s and 80s by
Guðmundur Pálmason (1928–2004), once one of
Iceland's best
chess players.
Guðmundur Pálmason's chess games
Chessgames.com. The name given to the model, however, misrepresents Icelandic naming conventions; Pálmason is a patronymic, not a surname
In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community.
Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...
, and in Iceland he would have properly been referred to by his given first name, Guðmundur.
References
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Plate tectonics