Crustal structure of the Kermadec arc from MANGO seismic refraction profiles

Three active-source seismic refraction profiles are integrated with morphological and potential field data to place the first regional constraints on the structure of the Kermadec subduction zone. These observations are used to test contrasting tectonic models for an along-strike transition in margin structure previously known as the 32°S boundary. We use residual bathymetry to constrain the geometry of this boundary and propose the name Central Kermadec Discontinuity (CKD). North of the CKD, the buried Tonga Ridge occupies the forearc with VP 6.5–7.3 km s-1 and residual free-air gravity anomalies constrain its latitudinal extent (north of 30.5°S), width (110 ± 20 km) and strike (~005° south of 25°S). South of the CKD the forearc is structurally homogeneous down-dip with VP 5.7–7.3 km s-1. In the Havre Trough backarc, crustal thickness south of the CKD is 8-9 km, which is up-to 4 km thinner than the northern Havre Trough and at least 1 km thinner than the southern Havre Trough. We suggest that the Eocene arc did not extend along the current length of the Tonga-Kermadec trench. The Eocene arc was originally connected to the Three Kings Ridge and the CKD was likely formed during separation and easterly translation of an Eocene arc substrate during the early Oligocene. We suggest that the first-order crustal thickness variations along the Kermadec arc were inherited from before the Neogene and reflect Mesozoic crustal structure, the Cenozoic evolution of the Tonga-Kermadec-Hikurangi margin and along-strike variations in the duration of arc volcanism

Subduction controls the distribution and fragmentation of Earth’s tectonic plates

International audienceThe theory of plate tectonics describes how the surface of the Earth is split into an organized jigsaw of seven large plates 1 of similar sizes and a population of smaller plates, whose areas follow a fractal distribution 2,3. The reconstruction of global tectonics during the past 200 My 4 suggests that this layout is probably a long-term feature of our planet, but the forces governing it are unknown. Previous studies 3,5,6 , primarily based on statistical properties of plate distributions, were unable to resolve how the size of plates is determined by lithosphere properties and/or underlying mantle convection. Here, we demonstrate that the plate layout of the Earth is produced by a dynamic feedback between mantle convection and the strength of the lithosphere. Using 3D spherical models of mantle convection with plate-like behaviour that match the plate size-frequency distribution observed for Earth, we show that subduction geometry drives the tectonic fragmentation that generates plates. The spacing between slabs controls the layout of large plates, and the stresses caused by the bending of trenches, break plates into smaller fragments. Our results explain why the fast evolution in small back-arc plates 7,8 reflects the dramatic changes in plate motions during times of major reorganizations. Our study opens the way to use convection simulations with plate-like behaviour to unravel how global tectonics and mantle convection are dynamically connected

Age of Izu-Bonin-Mariana arc basement

Documenting the early tectonic and magmatic evolution of the Izu–Bonin–Mariana (IBM) arc system in the Western Pacific is critical for understanding the process and cause of subduction initiation along the current convergent margin between the Pacific and Philippine Sea plates. Forearc igneous sections provide firm evidence for seafloor spreading at the time of subduction initiation (52 Ma) and production of “forearc basalt”. Ocean floor drilling (International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 351) recovered basement-forming, low-Ti tholeiitic basalt crust formed shortly after subduction initiation but distal from the convergent margin (nominally reararc) of the future IBM arc (Amami Sankaku Basin: ASB). Radiometric dating of this basement gives an age range (49.3–46.8 Ma with a weighted average of 48.7 Ma) that overlaps that of basalt in the present-day IBM forearc, but up to 3.3 m.y. younger than the onset of forearc basalt activity. Similarity in age range and geochemical character between the reararc and forearc basalts implies that the ocean crust newly formed by seafloor spreading during subduction initiation extends from fore- to reararc of the present-day IBM arc. Given the age difference between the oldest forearc basalt and the ASB crust, asymmetric spreading caused by ridge migration might have taken place. This scenario for the formation of the ASB implies that the Mesozoic remnant arc terrane of the Daito Ridges comprised the overriding plate at subduction initiation. The juxtaposition of a relatively buoyant remnant arc terrane adjacent to an oceanic plate was more favourable for subduction initiation than would have been the case if both downgoing and overriding plates had been oceanic

Reconstructing subducted oceanic lithosphere by "reverse-engineering" slab geometries: The northern Philippine Sea Plate

Peer reviewe

Mantle flow in regions of complex tectonics: insights from Indonesia

Indonesia is arguably one of the tectonically most complex regions on Earth today due to its location at the junction of several major tectonic plates and its long history of collision and accretion. It is thus an ideal location to study the interaction between subducting plates and mantle convection. Seismic anisotropy can serve as a diagnostic tool for identifying various subsurface deformational processes, such as mantle flow, for example. Here, we present novel shear wave splitting results across the Indonesian region. Using three different shear phases (local S, SKS, and downgoing S) to improve spatial resolution of anisotropic fabrics allows us to distinguish several deformational features. For example, the block rotation history of Borneo is reflected in coast-parallel fast directions, which we attribute to fossil anisotropy. Furthermore, we are able to unravel the mantle flow pattern in the Sulawesi and Banda region: We detect toroidal flow around the Celebes Sea slab, oblique corner flow in the Banda wedge, and sub-slab mantle flow around the arcuate Banda slab. We present evidence for deep, sub-520 km anisotropy at the Java subduction zone. In the Sumatran backarc, we measure trench-perpendicular fast orientations, which we assume to be due to mantle flow beneath the overriding Eurasian plate. These observations will allow to test ideas of, for example, slab–mantle coupling in subduction regions

Tracking the Australian plate motion through the Cenozoic: Constraints from 40Ar/39Ar geochronology

Here we use geochronology of Australian intraplate volcanoes to construct a high-resolution plate-velocity record and to explore how tectonic events in the southwest Pacific may have influenced plate motion. Nine samples from five volcanoes yield ages from 33.6 ± 0.5 to 27.3 ± 0.4 Ma and, when combined with published ages from 30 to 16 Ma, show that the rate of volcanic migration was not constant. Instead, the results indicate distinct changes in Australian plate motion. Fast northward velocities (61 ± 8 and 57 ± 4 km/Ma) prevailed from 34 to 30 (±0.5) and from 23 to 16 (±0.5) Ma, respectively, with distinct reductions to 20 ± 10 and 22 ± 5 km/Ma from 30 to 29 (±0.5) Ma and from 26 to 23 (±0.5) Ma. These velocity reductions are concurrent with tectonic collisions in New Guinea and Ontong Java, respectively. Interspersed between the periods of sluggish motion is a brief 29-26 (±0.5) Ma burst of atypically fast northward plate movement of 100 ± 20 km/Ma. We evaluate potential mechanisms for this atypically fast velocity, including catastrophic slab penetration into the lower mantle, thermomechanical erosion of the lithosphere, and plume-push forces; none are appropriate. This period of fast motion was, however, coincident with a major southward propagating slab tear that developed along the northeastern plate margin, following partial jamming of subduction and ophiolite obduction in New Caledonia. Although it is unclear whether such an event can play a role in driving fast plate motion, numerical or analogue models may help address this question. Key Points We determine nine 40Ar/39Ar ages from five Cenozoic volcanoes in Australia Slow velocities correlate with New Guinea and Ontong Java collisions Anomalously fast velocity of 100 +/- 20 km/Ma is identified from 29-26 M

Tectonic evolution of the southwest Pacific using constraints from backarc basins

We present a revised model for the formation of southwest Pacific backarc basins from 120 Ma to the present day. Our aim is to improve our understanding of the tectonic regime operating in the region and its consequences for global plate motions. Such an understanding helps explain present-day structures observed on the continental and oceanic lithosphere and the underlying mantle. Regional plate reconstructions were created using gravity and magnetic data from backarc basins, plate-circuit closure, global tomography and existing geological data. Our model predicts convergence between the Australian and Pacific Plates along the Norfolk Ridge from 120 to 100 Ma, followed by the fragmentation of East Gondwana. East-dipping subduction east of Australia was initiated at ca 90 Ma along the Loyalty-Three Kings Ridge and may have trapped Cretaceous quiet-zone crust In the Norfolk Basin. The inception of this subduction system may have provided a driving mechanism for the opening of the Tasman Sea by means of slab pull. A jump in subduction to the east was subsequently initiated along a west-dipping subduction system at ca 45 Ma driven by the collision of the Loyalty Arc with New Caledonia. Consequently, spreading in the North Loyalty Basin occurred by anticlockwise rotation of the subduction hinge between chrons 20 and 16 (43.8–35.3 Ma). This was concurrent to Norfolk Basin opening and formation of the Cook Fracture Zone. Backarc-basin formation then transferred to the South Fiji Basin where magnetic anomalles from chron 12 to 7N (30.9–25.2 Ma) have been identified as two contemporaneous triple junctions. The complex spreading regime witnessed in the South Fiji Basin appears analogous to the North Fiji Basin and may represent the surface expression of a hot, shallow mantle consistent in character to a superswell. The South Fiji Basin ceased forming at ca 25 Ma in response to a major plate reorganisation coinciding with the inception of the Alpine Fault, docking of the Ontong Java Plateau with the Melaneslan Arc and transpressional obduction of the Northland ophiollte. A lull in basin formation throughout most of the Miocene was followed by the reinitiation of backarc basin formation in the Lau Basin (during the past ∼7 million years) and North Fiji Basin (during the past ∼10 million years). All these apparent episodes of backarc-basin formation during the past 45 million years are possibly related to mantle-slab interaction at the 670 km discontinuity