A regime diagram for subduction styles from 3-D numerical models of free subduction

Stegman, D. R.; Farrington, Rebecca; Capitanio, Fabio A.; Schellart, Wouter P.

doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2009.08.041

Cited by 158 publications

(242 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…Models in which trench motion develops dynamically show that variable trench mobility governed by slab internal and external forcing is the most likely cause for variable modes of subduction-transition zone interaction (e.g., Ribe, 2010;Stegman et al, 2010b;Čížková and Bina, 2013;Garel et al, 2014).…”

Section: Role Of Trench Motionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The speed of trench retreat is controlled by subducting-plate strength and buoyancy (Bellahsen et al, 2005;Capitanio et al, 2007;Di Giuseppe et al, 2008;Schellart, 2008;Ribe, 2010;Stegman et al, 2010b;Capitanio and Morra, 2012;Fourel et al, 2014) (Fig. 7).…”

Section: Subducting-plate Density and Strength: Controls On Trench Momentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In some models, slabs with high viscosity and low densities lead to trench advance (Bellahsen et al, 2005;Di Giuseppe et al, 2008;Funiciello et al, 2008;Stegman et al, 2010b). The advance occurs when plates are able to (i.e., have sufficient sinking time to) fully bend over but do not have a chance to unbend before reaching the base of the upper mantle (Ribe, 2010).…”

Section: Subducting-plate Density and Strength: Controls On Trench Momentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Subduction-transition zone interaction: A review

et al. 2017

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Use policyThe full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that:• a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.Please consult the full DRO policy for further details. ABSTRACTAs subducting plates reach the base of the upper mantle, some appear to flatten and stagnate, while others seemingly go through unimpeded. This variable resistance to slab sinking has been proposed to affect long-term thermal and chemical mantle circulation. A review of observational constraints and dynamic models highlights that neither the increase in viscosity between upper and lower mantle (likely by a factor 20-50) nor the coincident endothermic phase transition in the main mantle silicates (with a likely Clapeyron slope of -1 to -2 MPa/K) suffice to stagnate slabs. However, together the two provide enough resistance to temporarily stagnate subducting plates, if they subduct accompanied by significant trench retreat. Older, stronger plates are more capable of inducing trench retreat, explaining why backarc spreading and flat slabs tend to be associated with old-plate subduction. Slab viscosities that are ~2 orders of magnitude higher than background mantle (effective yield stresses of 100-300 MPa) lead to similar styles of deformation as those revealed by seismic tomography and slab earthquakes. None of the current transition-zone slabs seem to have stagnated there more than 60 m.y. Since modeled slab destabilization takes more than 100 m.y., lower-mantle entry is apparently usually triggered (e.g., by changes in plate buoyancy). Many of the complex morphologies of lower-mantle slabs can be the result of sinking and subsequent deformation of originally stagnated slabs, which can retain flat morphologies in the top of the lower mantle, fold as they sink deeper, and eventually form bulky shapes in the deep mantle.

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Section: Role Of Trench Motionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Subducting-plate Density and Strength: Controls On Trench Momentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Subducting-plate Density and Strength: Controls On Trench Momentioning

confidence: 99%

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Subduction-transition zone interaction: A review

et al. 2017

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“…The contact layer keeps the plates in isostatic equilibrium by preventing the slab from detaching from the external Earth surface boundary and sinking vertically; rather the subducting plate advances in a more realistic fashion. There are several methods for providing this balancing buoyancy force in numerical models (Ribe, 2010;Stegman et al, 2010;Morra et al, 2007). Here we use a "lubrication layer" method, where the Earth surface boundary is described as an adaptive surface, whose dynamic behaviour is controlled partially by the distance between the model isosurfaces.…”

Section: Model Setupmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pacific plate slab pull and intraplate deformation in the early Cenozoic

et al. 2014

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Abstract. Large tectonic plates are known to be susceptible to internal deformation, leading to a range of phenomena including intraplate volcanism. However, the space and time dependence of intraplate deformation and its relationship with changing plate boundary configurations, subducting slab geometries, and absolute plate motion is poorly understood. We utilise a buoyancy-driven Stokes flow solver, BEM-Earth, to investigate the contribution of subducting slabs through time on Pacific plate motion and plate-scale deformation, and how this is linked to intraplate volcanism. We produce a series of geodynamic models from 62 to 42 Ma in which the plates are driven by the attached subducting slabs and mantle drag/suction forces. We compare our modelled intraplate deformation history with those types of intraplate volcanism that lack a clear age progression. Our models suggest that changes in Cenozoic subduction zone topology caused intraplate deformation to trigger volcanism along several linear seafloor structures, mostly by reactivation of existing seamount chains, but occasionally creating new volcanic chains on crust weakened by fracture zones and extinct ridges. Around 55 Ma, subduction of the PacificIzanagi ridge reconfigured the major tectonic forces acting on the plate by replacing ridge push with slab pull along its northwestern perimeter, causing lithospheric extension along pre-existing weaknesses. Large-scale deformation observed in the models coincides with the seamount chains of Hawaii, Louisville, Tokelau and Gilbert during our modelled time period of 62 to 42 Ma. We suggest that extensional stresses between 72 and 52 Ma are the likely cause of large parts of the formation of the Gilbert chain and that localised extension between 62 and 42 Ma could cause late-stage volcanism along the Musicians volcanic ridges. Our models demonstrate that early Cenozoic changes in Pacific plate driving forces only cause relatively minor changes in Pacific absolute plate motion directions, and cannot be responsible for the Hawaiian-Emperor bend (HEB), confirming previous interpretations that the 47 Ma HEB does not primarily reflect an absolute plate motion event.

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“…In the last years a variety of models studied subduction zones in 3D using either physical (e.g., Boutelier et al, 2014;Dominguez et al, 2000;Duarte et al 2013;Funiciello et al, 2008;Malavieille and Trullenque, 2009), semianalytical (Royden and Husson, 2006) or numerical methods (e.g., Capitanio et al, 2007;Jadamec and Billen, 2010;Malatesta et al, 2013;Manea et al, 2014;Schellart et al, 2007;Stegman et al, 2010;Sternai et al, 2014;Yamato et al, 2009;Hampel, 2015, 2016); these works tested several subduction-related topics as e.g. the deformation mechanisms and the influencing parameters of accretionary wedges, the role of margins geometry, interplate rheology and mantle processes on upper plate deformation and on subduction kinematics and dynamics.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interplate deformation at early‐stage oblique subduction: 3‐D thermomechanical numerical modeling

et al. 2016

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Oblique subduction zones are complex settings where the simultaneous action of trench‐normal and trench‐parallel components of convergence can produce heterogeneous deformational pattern of the upper plate and affect the accretional/erosional behavior of the plate margin. Here we present three‐dimensional thermomechanical numerical models that highlight some processes occurring in the early history (15–20 Myr) of intraoceanic oblique subduction zones, which so far represent the less studied case. These models have been compared with a simulation of a slab sinking under a continental plate. We test subduction starting in oceans floored by two classes of lithosphere: layered (fast spreading oceans) and serpentinite rich (slow to ultraslow spreading oceans). Two main domains develop along the margin of both type of oceanic plates: (a) a domain with a mostly stable trench, a shortening upper plate, characterized by the formation of a topographic relief, and (b) a domain with retreating trench and extending upper plate. In general, we observed that varying the subduction obliquity, the margin could either (i) record an erosional to a balanced accretion/erosion regime or (ii) be characterized by a predominant balanced accretion/erosion regime. In both cases, even where the sediment amount in the trench is high, the upper plate experiences tectonic erosion. We suggest that the formation of topographic reliefs on the fore arc is possibly related to the low amount of sediment in the trench, affecting interplate friction and promoting the upper plate indentation against the slab. The Puysegur subduction zone and the central Andes can be possibly natural examples of such a regime.

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A regime diagram for subduction styles from 3-D numerical models of free subduction

Cited by 158 publications

References 60 publications

Subduction-transition zone interaction: A review

Subduction-transition zone interaction: A review

Pacific plate slab pull and intraplate deformation in the early Cenozoic

Interplate deformation at early‐stage oblique subduction: 3‐D thermomechanical numerical modeling

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