Subduction Duration and Slab Dip

The dip angles of slabs are among the clearest characteristics of subduction zones, but the factors that control them remain obscure. Here, slab dip angles and subduction parameters, including subduction duration, the nature of the overriding plate, slab age, and convergence rate, are determined for 153 transects along subduction zones for the present day. We present a comprehensive tabulation of subduction duration based on isotopic ages of arc initiation and stratigraphic, structural, plate tectonic and seismic indicators of subduction initiation. We present two ages for subduction zones, a long‐term age and a reinitiation age. Using cross correlation and multivariate regression, we find that (1) subduction duration is the primary parameter controlling slab dips with slabs tending to have shallower dips at subduction zones that have been in existence longer; (2) the long‐term age of subduction duration better explains variation of shallow dip than reinitiation age; (3) overriding plate nature could influence shallow dip angle, where slabs below continents tend to have shallower dips; (4) slab age contributes to slab dip, with younger slabs having steeper shallow dips; and (5) the relations between slab dip and subduction parameters are depth dependent, where the ability of subduction duration and overriding plate nature to explain observed variation decreases with depth. The analysis emphasizes the importance of subduction history and the long‐term regional state of a subduction zone in determining slab dip and is consistent with mechanical models of subduction

Horizontal mantle flow controls subduction dynamics

It is generally accepted that subduction is driven by downgoing-plate negative buoyancy. Yet plate age –the main control on buoyancy– exhibits little correlation with most of the present-day subduction velocities and slab dips. “West”-directed subduction zones are on average steeper (~65°) than “East”-directed (~27°). Also, a “westerly”-directed net rotation of the lithosphere relative to the mantle has been detected in the hotspot reference frame. Thus, the existence of an “easterly”-directed horizontal mantle wind could explain this subduction asymmetry, favouring steepening or lifting of slab dip angles. Here we test this hypothesis using high-resolution two-dimensional numerical thermomechanical models of oceanic plate subduction interacting with a mantle flow. Results show that when subduction polarity is opposite to that of the mantle flow, the descending slab dips subvertically and the hinge retreats, thus leading to the development of a back-arc basin. In contrast, concordance between mantle flow and subduction polarity results in shallow dipping subduction, hinge advance and pronounced topography of the overriding plate, regardless of their age-dependent negative buoyancy. Our results are consistent with seismicity data and tomographic images of subduction zones. Thus, our models may explain why subduction asymmetry is a common feature of convergent margins on Earth

Evolving force balance during incipient subduction

Nearly half of all active subduction zones initiated during the Cenozoic. All subduction zones associated with active back arc extension have initiated since the Eocene, hinting that back arc extension may be intimately associated with an interval (several tens of Myr) following subduction initiation. That such a large proportion of subduction zones are young indicates that subduction initiation is a continuous process in which the net resisting force associated with forming a new subduction zone can be overcome during the normal evolution of plates. Subduction initiation is known to have occurred in a variety of tectonic settings: old fracture zones, transform faults, and extinct spreading centers and through polarity reversal behind active subduction zones. Although occurring within different tectonic settings, four known subduction initiation events (Izu-Bonin-Mariana (IBM) along a fracture zone, Tonga-Kermadec along an extinct subduction boundary, New Hebrides within a back arc, and Puysegur-Fiordland along a spreading center) were typified by rapid uplift within the forearc followed by sudden subsidence. Other constraints corroborate the compressive nature of IBM and Tonga-Kermadec during initiation. Using an explicit finite element method within a two-dimensional domain, we explore the evolving force balance during initiation in which elastic flexure, viscous flow, plastic failure, and heat transport are all considered. In order to tie theory with observation, known tectonic settings of subduction initiation are used as initial and boundary conditions. We systematically explore incipient compression of a homogeneous plate, a former spreading center, and a fracture zone. The force balance is typified by a rapid growth in resisting force as the plate begins bending, reaching a maximum value dependent on plate thickness, but typically ranging from 2 to 3 × 1012 N/m for cases that become self-sustaining. This is followed by a drop in stress once a shear zone extends through the plate. The formation of a throughgoing fault is associated with rapid uplift on the hanging wall and subsidence on the footwall. Cumulative convergence, not the rate of convergence, is the dominant control on the force balance. Viscous tractions influence the force balance only if the viscosity of the asthenosphere is >1020 Pa s, and then only after plate failure. Following plate failure, buoyancy of the oceanic crust leads to a linear increase with crustal thickness in the work required to initiate subduction. The total work done is also influenced by the rate of lithospheric failure. A self-sustaining subduction zone does not form from a homogeneous plate. A ridge placed under compression localizes subduction initiation, but the resisting ridge push force is not nearly as large as the force required to bend the subducting plate. The large initial bending resistance can be entirely eliminated in ridge models, explaining the propensity for new subduction zones to form through polarity reversals. A fracture zone (FZ) placed in compression leads to subduction initiation with rapid extension of the overriding plate. A FZ must be underthrust by the older plate for ~100–150 km before a transition from forced to self-sustaining states is reached. In FZ models the change in force during transition is reflected by a shift from forearc uplift to subsidence. Subduction initiation is followed by trench retreat and back arc extension. Moderate resisting forces associated with modeled subduction initiation are consistent with the observed youth of Pacific subduction zones. The models provide an explanation for the compressive state of western Pacific margins before and during subduction initiation, including IBM and Tonga-Kermadec in the Eocene, and the association of active back arcs with young subduction zones. On the basis of our dynamic models and the relative poles of rotation between Pacific and Australia during the Eocene, we predict that the northern segment of the Tonga-Kermadec convergent margin would have initiated earlier with a progressive southern migration of the transition between forced and self-sustaining states

Tertiary-Quaternary subduction processes and related magmatism in the Alpine-Mediterranean region

During Tertiary to Quaternary times, convergence between Eurasia and Africa resulted in a variety of collisional orogens and different styles of subduction in the Alpine-Mediterranean region. Characteristic features of this area include arcuate orogenic belts and extensional basins, both of which can be explained by roll-back of subducted slabs and retreating subduction zones. After cessation of active subduction, slab detachment and post-collisional gravitational collapse of the overthickened lithosphere took place. This complex tectonic history was accompanied by the generation of a wide variety of magmas. Most of these magmas (e.g. low-K tholeiitic, calc-alkaline, shoshonitic and ultrapotassic types) have trace element and isotopic fingerprints that are commonly interpreted to reflect enrichment of their source regions by subduction-related fluids. Thus, they can be considered as ‘subduction-related’ magmas irrespective of their geodynamic relationships. Intraplate alkali basalts are also found in the region generally postdated the ‘subduction-related’ volcanism. These mantle-derived magmas have not been, or only slightly, influenced by subduction-related enrichment. This paper summarises the geodynamic setting of the Tertiary-Quaternary “subduction-related” magmatism in the different segments of the Alpine-Mediterranean region (Betic-Alboran-Rif province, Central Mediterranean, the Alps, Carpathian-Pannonian region, Dinarides and Hellenides, Aegean and Western Anatolia), and discusses the main characteristics and compositional variation of the magmatic rocks. Radiogenic and stable isotope data indicate the importance of continental crustal material in the genesis of these magmas. Interaction with crustal material probably occurred both in the upper mantle during subduction (‘source contamination’) and in the continental crust during ascent of mantle-derived magmas (either by mixing with crustal melts or by crustal contamination). The 87Sr/86Sr and 206Pb/204Pb isotope ratios indicate that an enriched mantle component, akin to the source of intraplate alkali mafic magmas along the Alpine foreland, played a key role in the petrogenesis of the ‘subduction-related’ magmas of the Alpine-Mediterranean region. This enriched mantle component could be related to mantle plumes or to long-term pollution (deflection of the central Atlantic plume and recycling of crustal material during subduction) of the shallow mantle beneath Europe since the late Mesozoic. In the first case, subduction processes could have had an influence in generating asthenospheric flow by deflecting nearby mantle plumes due to slab roll-back or slab break-off. In the second case, the variation in the chemical composition of the volcanic rocks in the Mediterranean region can be explained by “statistical sampling” of the strongly inhomogeneous mantle followed by variable degrees of crustal contamination

Two-sided asymmetric subduction; implications for tectonomagmatic and metallogenic evolution of the Lut Block, Eastern Iran

West directed subduction zones show common characteristics, such as low structural elevation, deep trench, steep slab and a conjugate back-arc basin that are opposite to those of the east directed subduction zones. The tectonomagmatic and metallogenic setting of the Lut Block is still a matter of debate and several hypotheses have been put forward. Despite some authors denying the influence of the operation of Benioff planes, the majority propose that it occurred beneath the Afghan Block, while others consider that oceanic lithosphere was dragged under the Lut Block. Cu-Au porphyry deposits seem to occur in an island arc geotectonic setting during the middle Eocene while Mo-bearing deposits are coincident with the crustal thickening during Oligocene. We introduce new trace element and isotope geochemical data for granitoids and structural evidences testifying the two-sided asymmetric subduction beneath both Afghan and Lut Blocks, with different rates of consumption of oceanic lithosphere

An Evaluation of Proposed Mechanisms of Slab Flattening in Central Mexico

Central Mexico is the site of an enigmatic zone of flat subduction. The general geometry of the subducting slab has been known for some time and is characterized by a horizontal zone bounded on either side by two moderately dipping sections. We systematically evaluate proposed hypotheses for shallow subduction in Mexico based on the spatial and temporal evidence, and we find no simple or obvious explanation for the shallow subduction in Mexico. We are unable to locate an oceanic lithosphere impactor, or the conjugate of an impactor, that is most often called upon to explain shallow subduction zones as in South America, Japan, and Laramide deformation in the US. The only bathymetric feature that is of the right age and in the correct position on the conjugate plate is a set of unnamed seamounts that are too small to have a significant effect on the buoyancy of the slab. The only candidate that we cannot dismiss is a change in the dynamics of subduction through a change in wedge viscosity, possibly caused by water brought in by the slab

Rupture Process of Subduction-Zone Earthquakes

This review is primarily concerned with the rupture process of large subduction-zone earthquakes determined by various seismological methods, and with its interpretation in terms of an asperity model. It is not possible to make a thorough and extensive review on the subject because of the limited length. Consequently, this review is inevitably biased toward the works in which I was directly involved through collaborations with various investigators. The distribution of large earthquakes along subduction zones has a distinct pattern. Great earthquakes occur in South America, Alaska, the Aleutians, and Kamchatka. In contrast, earthquakes along the Marianas are smaller. The seismicity in other subduction zones is intermediate between these two groups (see Figure 1). Although this regional variation now generally accepted, it was not until an appropriate method for quantification of large earthquakes was developed that the regional variation was clearly recognized. In view of its fundamental importance in seismology, we first review the quantification method

Global correlations between maximum magnitudes of subduction zone interface thrust earthquakes and physical parameters of subduction zones

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Tectonic evolution of a continental collision zone: A thermomechanical numerical model

We model evolution of a continent-continent collision and draw some parallels with the tectonic evolution of the Himalaya. We use a large-scale visco-plasto-elastic thermomechanical model that has a free upper surface, accounts for erosion and deposition and allows for all modes of lithospheric deformation. For quartz/olivine rheology and 60 mm/yr convergence rate, the continental subduction is stable, and the model predicts three distinct phases. During the phase 1 (120 km or 6% of shortening), deformation is characterized by back thrusting around the suture zone. Some amount of delaminated lower crust accumulates at depth. During phase 2 (120 km–420 km or 6%–22% of shortening), this crustal root is exhumed (medium- to high-grade rocks) along a newly formed major thrust fault. This stage bears similarities with the period of coeval activity of the Main Central thrust and of the South Tibetan Detachment between 20–16 Myr ago. During phase 3 (>420 km or 22% of shortening), the crust is scraped off from the mantle lithosphere and is incorporated into large crustal wedge. Deformation is localized around frontal thrust faults. This kinematics should produce only low- to medium-grade exhumation. This stage might be compared with the tectonics that has prevailed in the Himalaya over the last 15 Myr allowing for the formation of the Lesser Himalaya. The experiment is conducted at constant convergence rate, which implies increasing compressive force. Considering that this force is constant in nature, this result may be equivalent to a slowing down of the convergence rate as was observed during the India-Asia collision