3-D thermo-mechanical modeling of plume-induced subduction initiation

Baes, Marzieh; Gerya, Taras; Sobolev, S. V.

doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2016.08.023

Cited by 44 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…As the mantle plume activity decreased, a plume‐induced self‐sustaining intraoceanic arc system with a SW‐dipping polarity initially operated close to the location of the mantle plume (Panchegou and Yanlingguan areas) between ~2.78 and 2.76 Ga (Figure b). These processes are consistent with recent numerical modeling and physical analog modeling studies (Baes et al, ; Gerya, ; Gerya et al, ; Ueda et al, ). As the intraoceanic arc system evolved between ~2.74 and 2.71 Ga, the slab penetrated deeper into the mantle wedge and produced a strong pull that caused the oceanic crust away from the location of the mantle plume (Qixingtai area) to move downward due to gravitational instability (Figure c).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…The formation and evolution of the early continental crust in the Earth are two of the most important issues for the modern solid Earth sciences (Baes et al, ; Benn et al, ; Gerya, ; Rollinson, ; Turner et al, ). Most previous investigations on greenstone belts worldwide have suggested that the early Earth geodynamic regimes were significantly distinct from their modern counterparts because of the highly different thermal and chemical conditions under the thinner crust (Abbott et al, ; Cagnard et al, , ; Chardon et al, ; Fischer & Gerya, , ; Gerya et al, ; Herzberg et al, ; Sizova et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the ~3.2–2.7‐Ga conversion mechanism of the geodynamic regimes on Earth is still an enigma. As the thermal mechanical numerical modeling techniques have developed in recent years, it has been proposed that a hot and positively buoyant plume could pass through the overlying old and weak oceanic lithosphere and that the plume materials would spread across the top of the broken lithospheric pieces and push them downward into the asthenosphere, eventually inducing a self‐sustaining subduction process (Baes et al, ; Gerya et al, ; Lee & Lim, ; Ueda et al, ). Similar conditions that are characterized by the generation of new subduction zones along the margins of the Artemis Corona (the counterpart of mantle plumes) have also been observed on Venus, suggesting that this scenario might have profound influence on the terrestrial planets (Grindrod & Hoogenboom, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Ca. 2.8‐Ga Plume‐Induced Intraoceanic Arc System in the Eastern North China Craton

et al. 2019

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The conversion of Archean tectonic regimes from mantle plume to plate tectonic and the mechanism of subduction initiation are two crucial issues in the current Earth sciences. A typical komatiite‐tholeiite sequence consisting of ~2,850–2,800‐Ma komatiites and ~2,780–2,710‐Ma basaltic and andesitic to dacitic volcanic rocks is well preserved in the Archean Western Shandong terrane of the eastern North China Craton. These volcanic rocks were derived from the partial melting of a depleted mantle source with subsequent fractional crystallization, a metasomatized subarc mantle wedge, and a descending oceanic slab. Structural and kinematic observations suggest that the Qixingtai‐Yanlinguan‐Panchegou granite‐greenstone belt experienced ~2.85–2.80‐Ga extensional deformation (D1) by upwelling of a mantle plume and NE‐SW‐oriented shortening (D2) during ~2.78–2.71 Ga. The petrogenesis of the Mesoarchean to early Neoarchean metamorphosed volcanic rock series and regional deformation indicate that a plume‐induced self‐sustaining intraoceanic arc system with SW‐dipping subduction polarity operated ~2.8 Ga, followed by the evolution from initial to mature subduction. An increasing pull caused by the descending slab generated gravitational instability in the surrounding oceanic lithosphere and formation of a new initial subduction zone adjacent to the preexisting arc system. Similar to the process in the Western Shandong terrane, plume activity generally culminated in subduction events in many other Archean greenstone belts, revealing that plume‐arc interaction may have been a crucial mechanism for global Archean tectonic regime conversion from mantle plume to initial plate subduction in the crust of the early Earth.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Ca. 2.8‐Ga Plume‐Induced Intraoceanic Arc System in the Eastern North China Craton

et al. 2019

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“…To initiate subduction induced by plume‐lithosphere interaction the first step is to break the lithosphere. Breaking of the lithosphere depends on several parameters such as plume volume, plume buoyancy and lithospheric thickness (Baes et al, ). In this study, a plume can break the lithosphere in all experiments, indicating that the plume buoyancy is sufficient enough to overcome the lithospheric strength.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plume‐Induced Subduction Initiation: Single‐Slab or Multi‐Slab Subduction?

Baes

Sobolev

Gerya

et al. 2020

Geochem Geophys Geosyst

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Initiation of subduction following the impingement of a hot buoyant mantle plume is one of the few scenarios that allow breaking the lithosphere and recycling a stagnant lid without requiring any preexisting weak zones. Here, we investigate factors controlling the number and shape of retreating subducting slabs formed by plume‐lithosphere interaction. Using 3‐D thermomechanical models we show that the deformation regime, which defines formation of single‐slab or multi‐slab subduction, depends on several parameters such as age of oceanic lithosphere, thickness of the crust and large‐scale lithospheric extension rate. Our model results indicate that on present‐day Earth multi‐slab plume‐induced subduction is initiated only if the oceanic lithosphere is relatively young (<30–40 Myr, but >10 Myr), and the crust has a typical thickness of 8 km. In turn, development of single‐slab subduction is facilitated by older lithosphere and pre‐imposed extensional stresses. In early Earth, plume‐lithosphere interaction could have led to formation of either episodic short‐lived circular subduction when the oceanic lithosphere was young or to multi‐slab subduction when the lithosphere was old.

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“…Presently, modeling of the long-term (millions of years' time scale) deformation at plate boundaries (e.g., Baes et al, 2016;Burov et al, 2014;Gerya, 2011;Popov et al, 2012;Quinteros & Sobolev, 2013) and modeling of earthquakes and their seismic cycles (e.g., Barbot et al, 2012;Lambert & Barbot, 2016;Liu & Rice, 2007;Rice, 1993;Rice & Ben-Zion, 1996) are independent. A few models (Sobolev & Babeyko, 2004;van Dinther et al, 2013avan Dinther et al, , 2013bvan Dinther et al, , 2014 attempted to close the gap between these temporal scales, but these studies were limited to a minimum time resolution of several years.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling Seismic Cycles of Great Megathrust Earthquakes Across the Scales With Focus at Postseismic Phase

Sobolev

Muldashev

2017

Geochem Geophys Geosyst

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Subduction is substantially multiscale process where the stresses are built by long‐term tectonic motions, modified by sudden jerky deformations during earthquakes, and then restored by following multiple relaxation processes. Here we develop a cross‐scale thermomechanical model aimed to simulate the subduction process from 1 min to million years' time scale. The model employs elasticity, nonlinear transient viscous rheology, and rate‐and‐state friction. It generates spontaneous earthquake sequences and by using an adaptive time step algorithm, recreates the deformation process as observed naturally during the seismic cycle and multiple seismic cycles. The model predicts that viscosity in the mantle wedge drops by more than three orders of magnitude during the great earthquake with a magnitude above 9. As a result, the surface velocities just an hour or day after the earthquake are controlled by viscoelastic relaxation in the several hundred km of mantle landward of the trench and not by the afterslip localized at the fault as is currently believed. Our model replicates centuries‐long seismic cycles exhibited by the greatest earthquakes and is consistent with the postseismic surface displacements recorded after the Great Tohoku Earthquake. We demonstrate that there is no contradiction between extremely low mechanical coupling at the subduction megathrust in South Chile inferred from long‐term geodynamic models and appearance of the largest earthquakes, like the Great Chile 1960 Earthquake.

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3-D thermo-mechanical modeling of plume-induced subduction initiation

Cited by 44 publications

References 39 publications

A Ca. 2.8‐Ga Plume‐Induced Intraoceanic Arc System in the Eastern North China Craton

A Ca. 2.8‐Ga Plume‐Induced Intraoceanic Arc System in the Eastern North China Craton

Plume‐Induced Subduction Initiation: Single‐Slab or Multi‐Slab Subduction?

Modeling Seismic Cycles of Great Megathrust Earthquakes Across the Scales With Focus at Postseismic Phase

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