Subduction initiates at straight passive margins

Marques, F.O.; Cabral, F.R.; Gerya, Taras; Zhu, Guizhi; May, David A.

doi:10.1130/g35246.1

Cited by 34 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 26 publications

(30 reference statements)

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“…Studies on subduction initiation have been many and continue to this day (e.g., McKenzie 1977;Karig 1982;Mueller & Phillips 1991;Toth & Gurnis 1998;Niu et al 2003;Stern 2004;Gurnis et al 2004;Stern et al 2012;Shervais & Choi 2012;Marques et al 2014). With all factors considered, the hypothesis of "subduction initiation as a consequence of lateral compositional buoyancy contrast within the lithosphere" (Niu et al 2003) is physically straightforward, geologically consistent with observations, and is capable of making testable predictions.…”

Section: The Origin Of Subduction Zonesmentioning

confidence: 90%

Geological understanding of plate tectonics: Basic concepts, illustrations, examples and new perspectives

Niu¹

2018

gtm

115

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Publisher's copyright statement:This article is available under CC-BY-NC Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Licence, which permits users to use, reproduce, disseminate or display the article provided that the author is attributed as the original creator and that the reuse is restricted to non-commercial purposes i.e. research or educational use. Additional information: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. With 16 figuresAbstract: In this paper, I have reviewed some basic concepts of the plate tectonics theory in a plain geological language with the aim of encouraging geologists to correctly understand this theory in its applications to geological problems. I emphasized the decisive role of subduction as the ultimate (dominant) driving force of all the plate tectonics phenomena. Hence, my discussion has focused on major issues such as the origin of subduction zones, slab rollback, trench retreat, trench suction and driving mechanism of plate motion (both oceanic and continental) by means of illustration with hypothetical and real examples. As much of the discussion is heavily based on my personal (original) perspectives, some of the concepts, interpretations and hypotheses may not be familiar to many and may not be readily found in the existing literature. Mantle plume hypothesis is not the focus of this paper and is thus only mentioned in passing.

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Section: The Origin Of Subduction Zonesmentioning

confidence: 90%

Geological understanding of plate tectonics: Basic concepts, illustrations, examples and new perspectives

Niu¹

2018

gtm

115

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“…Another type of model focuses on the SI at passive continental margins, which only deal with two plates and a transition between them (e.g., Baes & Sobolev, 2017;Nikolaeva et al, 2011;Rey et al, 2014;Toth & Gurnis, 1998;Ulvrova et al, 2019;Zhong & Li, 2019). These models indicate that the SI at passive continental margin is not easy, which generally requires special conditions, for example, (1) a thin, weak, and very buoyant continental lithosphere (e.g., Nikolaeva et al, 2011;Marques et al, 2013Marques et al, , 2014Rey et al, 2014); (2) a prescribed weak transition zone between the continental and oceanic plates (e.g., Baes et al, 2011;Toth & Gurnis, 1998); (3) driven by downward mantle flow (e.g., Baes & Sobolev, 2017); or (4) driven by a boundary stress/force (e.g., Zhong & Li, 2019). On the other hand, the natural examples of Atlantic and Indian passive margins, neighboring to relatively old oceanic lithospheres, are generally stable and difficult for SI (Cloetingh et al, 1989;Mueller & Phillips, 1991;Niu et al, 2003;Zhong & Li, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Subduction Initiation During Collision‐Induced Subduction Transference: Numerical Modeling and Implications for the Tethyan Evolution

Zhong

2020

JGR Solid Earth

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The collision‐induced subduction transference is a composite dynamic process including both the terrane collision/accretion and the subduction initiation (SI) at the neighboring passive margin. This process occurred repeatedly during the evolution of Tethyan systems, with multiple ribbon‐like continents or microcontinents drifting from Gondwana in the southern hemisphere and accreting to the Eurasian continent since Paleozoic. In the previous numerical studies, the dynamics of terrane collision and induced SI are investigated individually, which however need to be integrated to study the controlling factors and time scales of collision‐induced subduction transference. Systematic numerical models are conducted with variable properties of converging plates and different boundary conditions. The model results indicate that the forced convergence, rather than pure free subduction, is required to trigger and sustain the SI at the neighboring passive margin after terrane collision. In addition, a weak passive margin can significantly promote the occurrence of SI, by decreasing the required boundary force to reasonable value of plate tectonics. The lengths of subducted oceanic slab and accreting terrane play secondary roles in the occurrence of SI after collision. Under the favorable conditions of collision‐induced subduction transference, the time required for SI after collision is generally short within 10 Myr, which is consistent with the general geological records of Cimmerian collision and the following Neo‐Tethyan SI. In contrast, the stable Indian passive margin and absence of SI in the present Indian Ocean may be due to the low convergent force and/or the lack of proper weak zones, which remains an open question.

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“…The spontaneous SI is generally driven by the increasing negative buoyancy of oceanic lithosphere during its aging and cooling. Many models, both conceptual and numerical, have been proposed in the previous studies, which generally require an initial weak zone or other weakening effects (Dewey, 1969;Karig, 1982;Regenauer-Lieb et al, 2001;Leng & Gurnis, 2015;Niu et al, 2003;Nikolaeva et al, 2010Nikolaeva et al, , 2011Marques et al, 2013Marques et al, , 2014Rey et al, 2014;Zhou et al, 2018). Transform fault, which widely exists in the oceanic plate, has been suggested as a potential site for spontaneous SI (Casey & Dewey, 1984;Stern, 2004;Uyeda & Ben-Avraham, 1972;Zhou et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forced Subduction Initiation at Passive Continental Margins: Velocity‐Driven Versus Stress‐Driven

Zhong

2019

Geophysical Research Letters

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Subduction initiation (SI) at passive continental margin plays a key role in the Wilson cycle of plate tectonics; however, the long‐lived, stable Atlantic‐type margin challenges this hypothesis. The spontaneous SI at passive margin is difficult, which could be instead induced by far‐field tectonic forces. Previous analog and numerical models are generally conducted with constant convergent velocity, which may lead to extremely large boundary force in order for SI. In this study, we focus on numerical models with constant convergent force/stress to investigate the conditions for SI at typical passive margin without any type of prescribed weak zones. The result indicates that the SI at young passive margins with thin oceanic lithosphere is much easier than that at old margins. It reveals the dynamics of multiple newly formed subduction zones in the young oceanic plates of Southeast Asia and Southwest Pacific, but generally no SI for the old Atlantic‐type passive margin.

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Subduction initiates at straight passive margins

Cited by 34 publications

References 26 publications

Geological understanding of plate tectonics: Basic concepts, illustrations, examples and new perspectives

Geological understanding of plate tectonics: Basic concepts, illustrations, examples and new perspectives

Subduction Initiation During Collision‐Induced Subduction Transference: Numerical Modeling and Implications for the Tethyan Evolution

Forced Subduction Initiation at Passive Continental Margins: Velocity‐Driven Versus Stress‐Driven

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