Abstract
Analysis of the published data has revealed a stable correlation between the latitudinal position of major morphostructures of the Western Pacific Transition Zone (WPTZ), i.e., marginal seas, island arcs and deep-sea trenches, and the average values of heat flows. In marginal sea basins heat flow has a negative correlation with their area and a positive correlation with the dip angle of the respective seismofocal zone. For the rear seas of the zone a correlation has been noted between the distance from the borders of maximum heat flow region to the trench axis and the amplitude and sign of mantle gravity anomaly. The data presented for the marginal sea-island arc system are in best agreement with the model of mantle upwelling. A number of cross-sections of the zone show multiple manifestations of diapiric process.
