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Barry Parsons coauthored an analysis of how ocean-floor depth and heat flux change with age, using those data to compare models of cooling oceanic lithosphere.^[ref]

The study illustrates a useful test of geophysical models: one thermal structure must account for both oceanic thermal subsidence and surface heat loss. Agreement with a depth curve alone would leave a larger range of possible thermal histories.

John G. Sclater coauthored work linking ocean-floor depth and heat flux to the age of oceanic lithosphere. With Barry Parsons, he compared cooling models against both types of observation.^[ref]

Cooling changes both the thermal gradient that drives heat loss and the mass density structure that affects subsidence. Their joint use constrains the thermal evolution more strongly than either observation alone.