On the Initiation of Subduction Zones

Cloetingh, S.A.P.L.; Wortel, Rinus; Vlaar, N. J.

doi:10.1007/978-3-0348-9140-0_2

Cited by 49 publications

(90 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…problem e.g., Cloetingh et al, 1982Cloetingh et al, , 1989 . Subduction zones develop either along passive continental margins or at strong lateral variations in thickness and composition of the lithosphere.…”

Section: Initiation Of Subduction Zones: the Atlantic Examplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Orogens and slabs vs. their direction of subduction

Doglioni

Harabaglia

Merlini

et al. 1999

Earth-Science Reviews

301

198

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Section: Initiation Of Subduction Zones: the Atlantic Examplesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Orogens and slabs vs. their direction of subduction

Doglioni

Harabaglia

Merlini

et al. 1999

Earth-Science Reviews

301

198

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“…How does subduction initiate on the present‐day Earth? This question has been addressed by many authors and yet remains poorly understood [ McKenzie , 1977; Turcotte et al , 1977; Cloetingh et al , 1989; Ogawa , 1990; Mueller and Phillips , 1991; Lenardic and Kaula , 1994; Kemp and Stevenson , 1996; Schubert and Zhang , 1997; Toth and Gurnis , 1998; Regenauer‐Lieb et al , 2001]. It has been realized that initiation of subduction by forces associated with plate tectonics is very difficult and requires rather weak faults.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Initiation of subduction by small‐scale convection

Solomatov

2004

J. Geophys. Res.

120

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[1] The possibility of initiation of subduction by sublithospheric small-scale convection is investigated with the help of Fowler's theory, numerical constraints on the lithospheric stresses generated by convection, and direct numerical simulations of subduction. The derived scaling laws show that the critical yield stress for initiation of subduction by small-scale convection is of the order of 30 MPa. This value is comparable with the critical yield stress required for initiation of subduction by plate forces and with the estimates of stresses in the subduction zone. This implies that small-scale convection can play an important role in the initiation of subduction on the present-day Earth. This also implies that small-scale convection can initiate subduction in the absence of already occurring plate tectonics and thus can be a trigger mechanism for plate tectonics on the early Earth and other terrestrial planets. The critical yield stress for initiation of subduction by either mechanism is at least one order of magnitude smaller than the estimates of the lithospheric strength suggested by laboratory experiments on rock deformation. Such a low lithospheric strength is most likely caused by a relatively high abundance of water in the interior of the Earth. Since the critical yield stress depends only weakly on planetary parameters, water seems to be the key condition required for plate tectonics to occur on a terrestrial planet.

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“…The density excess of the cold plate compared to its surrounding acts as the primary driving force for subduction (Vlaar and Wortel 1976). The most favourable tectonic setting for spontaneous subduction initiation is a passive margin along an old continent due to its large density contrast (Cloetingh et al 1989;Nikolaeva et al 2010). Induced subduction initiation, on the other hand, is characterised by external forces supporting plate convergence.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Subduction initiation from a stagnant lid and global overturn: new insights from numerical models with a free surface

Crameri

Tackley

2016

Prog. in Earth and Planet. Sci.

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Subduction initiation is a key in understanding the dynamic evolution of the Earth and its fundamental difference to all other rocky planetary bodies in our solar system. Despite recent progress, the question about how a stiff, mostly stagnant planetary lid can break and become part in the global overturn of the mantle is still unresolved. Many mechanisms, externally or internally driven, are proposed in previous studies. Here, we present the results on subduction initiation obtained by dynamically self-consistent, time-dependent numerical modelling of mantle convection. We show that the stress distribution and resulting deformation of the lithosphere are strongly controlled by the top boundary formulation: A free surface enables surface topography and plate bending, increases gravitational sliding of the plates and leads to more realistic, lithosphere-scale shear zones. As a consequence, subduction initiation induced by regional mantle flow is demonstrably favoured by a free surface compared to the commonly applied, vertically fixed (i.e. free-slip) surface. In addition, we present global, three-dimensional mantle convection experiments that employ basal heating that leads to narrow mantle plumes. Narrow mantle plumes impinging on the base of the plate cause locally weak plate segments and a large topography at the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary. Both are shown to be key to induce subduction initiation. Finally, our model self-consistently reproduces an episodic lid with a fast global overturn due to the hotter mantle developed below a former stagnant lid. We conclude that once in a stagnant-lid mode, a planet (like Venus) might preferentially evolve by temporally discrete, global overturn events rather than by a continuous recycling of lid and that this is something worth testing more rigorously in future studies.

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On the Initiation of Subduction Zones

Cited by 49 publications

References 59 publications

Orogens and slabs vs. their direction of subduction

Orogens and slabs vs. their direction of subduction

Initiation of subduction by small‐scale convection

Subduction initiation from a stagnant lid and global overturn: new insights from numerical models with a free surface

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