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1.
D. Arcay  M.-P. Doin  E. Tric  R. Bousquet   《Tectonophysics》2007,441(1-4):27-45
At continental subduction initiation, the continental crust buoyancy may induce, first, a convergence slowdown, and second, a compressive stress increase that could lead to the forearc lithosphere rupture. Both processes could influence the slab surface PT conditions, favoring on one side crust partial melting or on the opposite the formation of ultra-high pressure/low temperature (UHP-LT) mineral. We quantify these two effects by performing numerical simulations of subduction. Water transfers are computed as a function of slab dehydration/overlying mantle hydration reactions, and a strength decrease is imposed for hydrated mantle rocks. The model starts with an old oceanic plate ( 100 Ma) subducting for 145.5 Myr with a 5 cm/yr convergence rate. The arc lithosphere is thermally thinned between 100 km and 310 km away from the trench, due to small-scale convection occuring in the water-saturated mantle wedge. We test the influence of convergence slowdown by carrying on subduction with a decreased convergence rate (≤ 2 cm/yr). Surprisingly, the subduction slowdown yields not only a strong slab warming at great depth (> 80 km), but also a significant cooling of the forearc lithosphere at shallower depth. The convergence slowdown increases the subducted crust temperature at 90 km depth to 705 ± 62 °C, depending on the convergence rate reduction, and might thus favor the oceanic crust partial melting in presence of water. For subduction velocities ≤ 1 cm/yr, slab breakoff is triggered 20–32 Myr after slowdown onset, due to a drastic slab thermal weakening in the vicinity of the interplate plane base. At last, the rupture of the weakened forearc is simulated by imposing in the thinnest part of the overlying lithosphere a dipping weakness plane. For convergence with rates ≥ 1 cm/yr, the thinned forearc first shortens, then starts subducting along the slab surface. The forearc lithosphere subduction stops the slab surface warming by hot asthenosphere corner flow, and decreases in a first stage the slab surface temperature to 630 ± 20 °C at 80 km depth, in agreement with PT range inferred from natural records of UHP-LT metamorphism. The subducted crust temperature is further reduced to 405 ± 10 °C for the crust directly buried below the subducting forearc. Such a cold thermal state at great depth has never been sampled in collision zones, suggesting that forearc subduction might not be always required to explain UHP-LT metamorphsim.  相似文献   

2.
Seismic reflection profiles from three different surveys of the Cascadia forearc are interpreted using P wave velocities and relocated hypocentres, which were both derived from the first arrival travel time inversion of wide-angle seismic data and local earthquakes. The subduction decollement, which is characterized beneath the continental shelf by a reflection of 0.5 s duration, can be traced landward into a large duplex structure in the lower forearc crust near southern Vancouver Island. Beneath Vancouver Island, the roof thrust of the duplex is revealed by a 5–12 km thick zone, identified previously as the E reflectors, and the floor thrust is defined by a short duration reflection from a < 2-km-thick interface at the top of the subducting plate. We show that another zone of reflectors exists east of Vancouver Island that is approximately 8 km thick, and identified as the D reflectors. These overlie the E reflectors; together the two zones define the landward part of the duplex. The combined zones reach depths as great as 50 km. The duplex structure extends for more than 120 km perpendicular to the margin, has an along-strike extent of 80 km, and at depths between 30 km and 50 km the duplex structure correlates with a region of anomalously deep seismicity, where velocities are less than 7000 m s− 1. We suggest that these relatively low velocities indicate the presence of either crustal rocks from the oceanic plate that have been underplated to the continent or crustal rocks from the forearc that have been transported downward by subduction erosion. The absence of seismicity from within the E reflectors implies that they are significantly weaker than the overlying crust, and the reflectors may be a zone of active ductile shear. In contrast, seismicity in parts of the D reflectors can be interpreted to mean that ductile shearing no longer occurs in the landward part of the duplex. Merging of the D and E reflectors at 42–46 km depth creates reflectivity in the uppermost mantle with a vertical thickness of at least 15 km. We suggest that pervasive reflectivity in the upper mantle elsewhere beneath Puget Sound and the Strait of Georgia arises from similar shear zones.  相似文献   

3.
The Japan Trench subduction zone, located east of NE Japan, has regional variation in seismicity. Many large earthquakes occurred in the northern part of Japan Trench, but few in the southern part. Off Miyagi region is in the middle of the Japan Trench, where the large earthquakes (M > 7) with thrust mechanisms have occurred at an interval of about 40 years in two parts: inner trench slope and near land. A seismic experiment using 36 ocean bottom seismographs (OBS) and a 12,000 cu. in. airgun array was conducted to determine a detailed, 2D velocity structure in the forearc region off Miyagi. The depth to the Moho is 21 km, at 115 km from the trench axis, and becomes progressively deeper landward. The P-wave velocity of the mantle wedge is 7.9–8.1 km/s, which is typical velocity for uppermost mantle without large serpentinization. The dip angle of oceanic crust is increased from 5–6° near the trench axis to 23° 150 km landward from the trench axis. The P-wave velocity of the oceanic uppermost mantle is as small as 7.7 km/s. This low-velocity oceanic mantle seems to be caused by not a lateral anisotropy but some subduction process. By comparison with the seismicity off Miyagi, the subduction zone can be divided into four parts: 1) Seaward of the trench axis, the seismicity is low and normal fault-type earthquakes occur associated with the destruction of oceanic lithosphere. 2) Beneath the deformed zone landward of the trench axis, the plate boundary is characterized as a stable sliding fault plain. In case of earthquakes, this zone may be tsunamigenic. 3) Below forearc crust where P-wave velocity is almost 6 km/s and larger: this zone is the seismogenic zone below inner trench slope, which is a plate boundary between the forearc and oceanic crusts. 4) Below mantle wedge: the rupture zones of thrust large earthquakes near land (e.g. 1978 off Miyagi earthquake) are located beneath the mantle wedge. The depth of the rupture zones is 30–50 km below sea level. From the comparison, the rupture zones of large earthquakes off Miyagi are limited in two parts: plate boundary between the forearc and oceanic crusts and below mantle wedge. This limitation is a rare case for subduction zone. Although the seismogenic process beneath the mantle wedge is not fully clarified, our observation suggests the two possibilities: earthquake generation at the plate boundary overridden by the mantle wedge without serpentinization or that in the subducting slab.  相似文献   

4.
The Andaman arc in the northeastern Indian Ocean defines nearly 1100 km long active plate margin between the India and Burma plates where an oblique Benioff zone develops down to 200 km depth. Several east-trending seismologic sections taken across the Andaman Benioff Zone (ABZ) are presented here to detail the subduction zone geometry in a 3-D perspective. The slab gravity anomaly, computed from the 3-D ABZ configuration, is a smooth, long-wavelength and symmetric gravity high of 85 mGal amplitude centering to the immediate east of the Nicobar Island, where, a prominent gravity “high” follows the Nicobar Deep. The Slab-Residual Gravity Anomaly (SRGA) and Mantle Bouguer Anomaly (MBA) maps prepared for the Andaman plate margin bring out a double-peaked SRGA “low” in the range of − 150 to − 240 mGal and a wider-cum-larger MBA “low” having the amplitude of − 280 to − 315 mGal demarcating the Andaman arc–trench system. The gravity models provide evidences for structural control in propagating the rupture within the lithosphere. The plate margin configuration below the Andaman arc is sliced by the West Andaman Fault (WAF) as well as by a set of sympathetic faults of various proportions, often cutting across the fore-arc sediment package. Some of these fore-arc thrust faults clearly give rise to considerably high post-seismic activity, but the seismic incidence along the WAF further east is comparatively much less particularly in the north, although, the lack of depth resolution for many of the events prohibits tracing the downward continuity of these faults. Tectonic correlation of the gravity-derived models presented here tends to favour the presence of oceanic crust below the Andaman–Nicobar Outer Arc Ridge.  相似文献   

5.
Recent results of high-resolution seismic tomography and mineral physics experiments are used to study mantle dynamics of Western Pacific and East Asia. The most important processes in subduction zones are the shallow and deep slab dehydration and the convective circulation (corner flow) processes in the mantle wedge. The combination of the two processes may have caused the back-arc spreading in the Lau basin, affected the morphology of the subducting Philippine Sea slab and its seismicity under southwest Japan, and contributed to the formation of the continental rift system and intraplate volcanism in Northeast Asia, which are clearly visible in our tomographic images. Slow anomalies are also found in the mantle under the subducting Pacific slab, which may represent (a) small mantle plumes, (b) upwellings associated with the slab collapsing down to the lower mantle, or (c) sub-slab dehydration associated with deep earthquakes caused by the reactivation of large faults preserved in the slab. Combining tomographic images and earthquake hypocenters with phase diagrams in the systems of peridotite + water, we proposed a petrologic model for arc volcanism. Arc magmas are caused by the dehydration reactions of hydrated slab peridotite that supply water-rich fluids to the mantle wedge and cause partial melting of the convecting mantle wedge. A large amount of fluids can be released from hydrated MORB at depths shallower than 55 km, which move upwards to hydrate the wedge corner under the fore-arc, and never drag down to the deeper mantle along the slab surface. Slab dehydration reactions at 120 km depth are the antigorite-related 5 reactions which supply water-rich fluids for forming the volcanic front. Phase A and Mg-surssasite breakdown reactions at 200 and 300 km depths below 700 °C cause the second and third arcs, respectively. Moreover, the dehydration reactions of super-hydrous phase B, phases D and E at 500–660 km depths cause the fluid transportation to the mantle boundary layer (MBL) (410–660 km depth). The stagnant slabs extend from Japan to Beijing, China for over 1000 km long, indicating that the arc–trench system covers the entire region from the Japan trench to East Asia. We propose a big mantle wedge (BMW) model herein, where hydrous plumes originating from 410 km depth cause a series of intra-continental hot regions. Fluids derived from MBL accumulated by the double-sided subduction zones, rather than the India–Asia collision and the subsequent indentation into Asia, are the major cause for the active tectonics and mantle dynamics in this broad region.  相似文献   

6.
Dapeng Zhao  Eiji Ohtani   《Gondwana Research》2009,16(3-4):401-413
We present new pieces of evidence from seismology and mineral physics for the existence of low-velocity zones in the deep part of the upper mantle wedge and the mantle transition zone that are caused by fluids from the deep subduction and deep dehydration of the Pacific and Philippine Sea slabs under western Pacific and East Asia. The Pacific slab is subducting beneath the Japan Islands and Japan Sea with intermediate-depth and deep earthquakes down to 600 km depth under the East Asia margin, and the slab becomes stagnant in the mantle transition zone under East China. The western edge of the stagnant Pacific slab is roughly coincident with the NE–SW Daxing'Anling-Taihangshan gravity lineament located west of Beijing, approximately 2000 km away from the Japan Trench. The upper mantle above the stagnant slab under East Asia forms a big mantle wedge (BMW). Corner flow in the BMW and deep slab dehydration may have caused asthenospheric upwelling, lithospheric thinning, continental rift systems, and intraplate volcanism in Northeast Asia. The Philippine Sea slab has subducted down to the mantle transition zone depth under Western Japan and Ryukyu back-arc, though the seismicity within the slab occurs only down to 200–300 km depths. Combining with the corner flow in the mantle wedge, deep dehydration of the subducting Pacific slab has affected the morphology of the subducting Philippine Sea slab and its seismicity under Southwest Japan. Slow anomalies are also found in the mantle under the subducting Pacific slab, which may represent small mantle plumes, or hot upwelling associated with the deep slab subduction. Slab dehydration may also take place after a continental plate subducts into the mantle.  相似文献   

7.
Qunshu Tang  Ling Chen   《Tectonophysics》2008,455(1-4):43-52
We have used Rayleigh wave dispersion analysis and inversion to produce a high resolution S-wave velocity imaging profile of the crust and uppermost mantle structure beneath the northeastern boundary regions of the North China Craton (NCC). Using waveform data from 45 broadband NCISP stations, Rayleigh wave phase velocities were measured at periods from 10 to 48 s and utilized in subsequent inversions to solve for the S-wave velocity structure from 15 km down to 120 km depth. The inverted lower crust and uppermost mantle velocities, about 3.75 km/s and 4.3 km/s on average, are low compared with the global average. The Moho was constrained in the depth range of 30–40 km, indicating a typical crustal thickness along the profile. However, a thin lithosphere of no more than 100 km was imaged under a large part of the profile, decreasing to only ~ 60 km under the Inner Mongolian Axis (IMA) where an abnormally slow anomaly was observed below 60 km depth. The overall structural features of the study region resemble those of typical continental rift zones and are probably associated with the lithospheric reactivation and tectonic extension widespread in the eastern NCC during Mesozoic–Cenozoic time. Distinctly high velocities, up to ~ 4.6 km/s, were found immediately to the south of the IMA beneath the northern Yanshan Belt (YSB), extending down to > 100-km depth. The anomalous velocities are interpreted as the cratonic lithospheric lid of the region, which may have not been affected by the Mesozoic–Cenozoic deformation process as strongly as other regions in the eastern NCC. Based on our S-wave velocity structural image and other geophysical observations, we propose a possible lithosphere–asthenosphere interaction scenario at the northeastern boundary of the NCC. We speculate that significant undulations of the base of the lithosphere, which might have resulted from the uneven Mesozoic–Cenozoic lithospheric thinning, may induce mantle flows concentrating beneath the weak IMA zone. The relatively thick lithospheric lid in the northern YSB may serve as a tectonic barrier separating the on-craton and off-craton regions into different upper mantle convection systems at the present time.  相似文献   

8.
Numerical models on thermal structure, convective flow of solid, generation and transportation of H2O-rich fluid in subduction zones are consolidated to have a comprehensive view of the subduction zone processes: heat balance, circulation of H2O magmatism–metamorphism, growth of arcs and continental margins. A large scale convection model with steady subduction of a cold old slab (130 Myr old) predicts rapid ( 100 Myr) cooling of subduction zones, resulting in cessation of magmatism. The model also predicts that the mantle temperature beneath arcs and continental margins is greatly affected by the effective temperature of the subducting slab, i.e., the age of the subducting slab. If subduction of a young hot slab, including ridge subduction, occurs every 60 to 120 Myr as is suggested for eastern Asia, the average temperature beneath arcs is increased by about 300 °C, which may explain the long-lasting magmatism in eastern Asia. Associated with subduction of young slabs and ridges, thermal structure and circulation of H2O are greatly modified to cause a transition from (1) normal arc magmatism, (2) forearc mantle melting, to (3) slab melting to produce a significant amount (100 km3) of granitic melts, associated with both high-P/T and low-P/T type metamorphism. The last stage of (3) can result in formation of a granitic batholith belt and a paired metamorphic belts. Synthesis of the numerical models and observations suggest that episodic subduction of young slabs and ridges can explain heat source for generating a large amount of granitic magmas of batholiths, synchronous formation of batholith and regional metamorphic belts, and PT conditions of the paired metamorphism. Even the high-P/T metamorphism requires an elevated geothermal structure in the forearc region, associated with ridge subduction. Although the emplacement of the batholiths and the regional metamorphic belts, and the mass balance in subduction zones are not well constrained at present, the episodic event associated with ridge subduction is thought to be essential for net growth of arcs and continental margins, as well as for the long-term heat balance in subduction zones.  相似文献   

9.
W.P. Schellart  D.R. Stegman  J. Freeman   《Earth》2008,88(1-2):118-144
Since the advent of plate tectonics different global reference frames have been used to describe the motion of plates and trenches. The difference in plate motion and trench migration between different reference frames can be substantial (up to 4 cm/yr). This study presents an overview of trench migration velocities for all the mature and incipient subduction zones on Earth as calculated in eight different global reference frames. Calculations show that, irrespective of the reference frame: (1) trench retreat always dominates over trench advance, with 62–78% of the 244 trench segments retreating; (2) the mean and median trench velocity are always positive (retreating) and within the range 1.3–1.5 cm/yr and 0.9–1.3 cm/yr, respectively; (3) rapid trench retreat is only observed close to lateral slab edges (< 1500 km); and (4) trench retreat is always slow far from slab edges (> 2000 km). These calculations are predicted by geodynamic models with a varying slab width, in which plate motion, trench motion and mantle flow result from subduction of dense slabs, suggesting that trench motion is indeed primarily driven by slab buoyancy forces and that proximity to a lateral slab edge exerts a dominant control on the trench migration velocity. Despite these four general conclusions, significant differences in velocities between such reference frames remain. It is therefore important to determine which reference frame most likely describes the true absolute velocities to get an understanding of the forces driving plate tectonics and mantle convection. It is here proposed that, based on fluid dynamic considerations and predictions from geodynamic modelling, the best candidate is the one, which optimises the number of trench segments that retreat, minimizes the trench–perpendicular trench migration velocity (vT) in the centre of wide (> 4000 km) subduction zones, maximizes the number of retreating trench segments located within 2000 km of the closest lateral slab edge, minimizes the average of the absolute of the trench–perpendicular trench migration velocity (|vT|) for all subduction zones on Earth, and minimizes the global upper mantle toroidal volume flux (To) that results from trench migration and associated lateral slab migration (i.e. slab rollback or slab roll-forward). Calculations show that these conditions are best met in one particular Indo-Atlantic hotspot reference frame, where 75% of the subduction zones retreat, vT in the centre of wide subduction zones ranges between − 3.5 and 1.8 cm/yr, 83% of the trench segments located within 2000 km of the closest lateral slab edge retreat, the average of |vT| is 2.1 cm/yr, and To = 456 km3/yr (lower limit) and 539 km3/yr (upper limit). Inclusion of all the incipient subduction zones on Earth results in slightly greater fluxes of 465 km3/yr (lower limit) and 569 km3/yr (upper limit). It is also found that this reference frame is close to minimizing the total sub-lithospheric upper mantle volume flux (K) associated with motion of continental keels located below the major cratons. It is stressed, however, that K is an order of magnitude smaller than To, and thus of subordinate importance. In conclusion, the Indo-Atlantic hotspot reference frame appears preferable for calculating plate velocities and plate boundary velocities.  相似文献   

10.
S.  M.  D.   《Gondwana Research》2007,11(1-2):7
The Western Pacific Triangular Zone (WPTZ) is the frontier of a future supercontinent to be formed at 250 Ma after present. The WPTZ is characterized by double-sided subduction zones to the east and south, and is a region dominated by extensive refrigeration and water supply into the mantle wedge since at least 200 Ma. Long stagnant slabs extending over 1200 km are present in the mid-Mantle Boundary Layer (MBL, 410–660 km) under the WPTZ, whereas on the Core–Mantle Boundary (CMB, 2700–2900 km depth), there is a thick high-V anomaly, presumably representing a slab graveyard. To explain the D″ layer cold anomaly, catastrophic collapse of once stagnant slabs in MBL is necessary, which could have occurred at 30–20 Ma, acting as a trigger to open a series of back-arc basins, hot regions, small ocean basins, and presumably formation of a series of microplates in both ocean and continent. These events were the result of replacement of upper mantle by hotter and more fertile materials from the lower mantle.The thermal structure of the solid Earth was estimated by the phase diagrams of Mid Oceanic Ridge Basalt (MORB) and pyrolite combined with seismic discontinuity planes at 410–660 km, thickness of the D″ layers, and distribution of the ultra-low velocity zone (ULVZ). The result clearly shows the presence of two major superplumes and one downwelling. Thermal structure of the Earth seems to be controlled by the subduction history back to 180 Ma, except in the D″ layer. The thermal structure of the D″ layer seems to be controlled by older slab-graveyards, as expected by paleogeographic reconstructions for Laurasia, Gondwana and Rodinia back to 700 Ma.Comparison of mantle tomography between the Pacific superplume and underneath the WPTZ suggests the transformation of a cold slab graveyard to a large-scale mantle upwelling with time. The Pacific superplume was born from the coldest CMB underneath the 1.0–0.75 Ga supercontinent Rodinia where huge amounts of cold slabs had accumulated through collision-amalgamation of more than 12 continents. A high velocity P-wave anomaly on a whole-mantle scale shows stagnant slabs restricted to the MBL of circum-Pacific and Tethyan regions. The high velocity zones can be clearly identified within the Pacific domain, suggesting the presence of slab graveyards formed at geological periods much older than the breakup of Rodinia. We speculate that the predominant subduction occurred through the formation period of Gondwana, presumably very active during 600 to 540 Ma period, and again from 400 to 300 Ma during the formation of the northern half of Pangea (Laurasia). We correlate the three dominant slab graveyards with three major orogenies in earth history, with the emerging picture suggesting that the present-day Pacific superplume is located at the center of the Rodinian slab graveyard.We speculate the mechanism of superplume formation through a comparison of the thermal structure of the mantle combined with seismic tomography under the Western Pacific Triangular Zone (WPTZ), Laurasia (Asia), Gondwana (Africa), and Rodinia (Pacific). The coldest mantle formed by extensive subduction to generate a supercontinent, changes with time of the order of several hundreds of million years to the hottest mantle underneath the supercontinent. The Pacific superplume is tightly defined by a steep velocity gradient on the margin, particularly well documented by S-wave velocity. The outermost region of the superplume is characterized by the Rodinia slab graveyard forming a donut-shape. We develop a petrologic model for the Pacific superplume and show how larger plumes are generated at shallower depths in the mantle. We link the mechanism of formation of the superplume to the presence of the mineral post-perovskite, the phase transformation of which to perovskite is exothermic, and thus aids in transporting core heat to mantle, and finally to planetary space by plumes.We summarize the characteristics of tectonic processes operating at the CMB to propose the existence of an “anti-crust” generated through “anti-plate tectonics” at the bottom of the mantle. The chemistry of the anti-crust markedly contrasts with that of the continental crust overlying the mantle. Both the crust and the anti-crust must have increased in volume through geologic time, in close relation with the geochemical reservoirs of the Earth. The process of formation of a new superplume closely accompanies the process of development of anti-crust at the bottom of mantle, through the production of dense melt from the partial melting of recycled MORB, observed now as the ULVZ. When CMB temperature is recovered to near 4000 K through phase transformation, the recycled MORB is partially melted imparting chemical buoyancy of the andesitic residual solid which rises up from CMB, leaving behind the dense melt to sink to CMB and thus increase the mass of anti-crust. These small-scale plumes develop to a large-scale superplume through collision and amalgamation with time. When all recycled MORBs are consumed, it is the time of demise of superplume. Immediately above the CMB, anti-plate tectonics operates to develop anti-crust through the horizontal movement of accumulated slab and their partial melting. Thus, we speculate that another continent, or even a supercontinent, has developed through geologic time at the bottom of the mantle.We also evaluate the heating vs. cooling models in relation to mantle dynamics. Rising plumes control not only the rifting of supercontinents and continents, but also the Atlantic stage as seen by anchored ridge by hotspots in the last 200 Ma in the Atlantic. Therefore, we propose that the major driving force for the mantle dynamics is the heat supplied from the high-T core, and not the slab pull force by cooling. The best analogy for this is the atmospheric circulation driven by the energy from Sun.  相似文献   

11.
Modelling of gravity and airborne magnetic data integrated with seismic studies suggest that the linear gravity and magnetic anomalies associated with Moyar Bhavani Shear Zone (MBSZ) and Palghat Cauvery Shear Zone (PCSZ) are caused by high density and high susceptibility rocks in upper crust which may represent mafic lower crustal rocks. This along with thick crust (44–45 km) under the Southern Granulite Terrain (SGT) indicates collision of Dharwar craton towards north and SGT towards south with N–S directed compression during 2.6–2.5 Ga. This collision may be related to contemporary collision northwards between Eastern Madagascar–Western Dharwar Craton (WDC) and Eastern Dharwar Craton (EDC). Arcuate shaped N and S-verging thrusts, MBSZ-Mettur Shear and PCSZ-Gangavalli Shear, respectively across Cauvery Shear zone system (CSZ) in SGT also suggest that the WDC, EDC and SGT might have collided almost simultaneously during 2.6–2.5 Ga due to NW–SE directed compressional forces with CSZ as central core complex in plate tectonics paradigm preserving rocks of oceanic affinity. Gravity anomalies of schist belts of WDC suggest marginal and intra arc basin setting.The gravity highs of EGFB along east coast of India and regional gravity low over East Antarctica are attributed to thrusted high-density lower crustal/upper mantle rocks at a depth of 5–6 km along W-verging thrust, which is supported by high seismic velocity and crustal thickening, respectively. It may represent a collision zone at about 1.0 Ga between India and East Antarctica. Paired gravity anomalies in the central part of Sri Lanka related to high density intrusives under western margin of Highland Complex and crustal thickening (40 km) along eastern margin of Highland Complex with several arc type magmatic rocks of about 1.0 Ga in Vijayan Complex towards the east may represent collision between them with W-verging thrust as in case of EGFB. The gravity high of Sri Lanka in the central part falls in line with that of EGFB, in case it is fitted in Gulf of Mannar and may represent the extension of this orogeny in Sri Lanka.  相似文献   

12.
W.P. Schellart   《Tectonophysics》2007,445(3-4):363-372
A geodynamic model exists, the westward lithospheric drift model, in which the variety of overriding plate deformation, trench migration and slab dip angles is explained by the polarity of subduction zones. The model predicts overriding plate extension, a fixed trench and a steep slab dip for westward-dipping subduction zones (e.g. Mariana) and predicts overriding plate shortening, oceanward trench retreat and a gentle slab dip for east to northeastward-dipping subduction zones (e.g. Chile). This paper investigates these predictions quantitatively with a global subduction zone analysis. The results show overriding plate extension for all dip directions (azimuth α = − 180° to 180°) and overriding plate shortening for dip directions with α = − 90° to 110°. The wide scatter in data negate any obvious trend and only local mean values in overriding plate deformation rate indicate that overriding plate extension is somewhat more prevalent for west-dipping slabs. West-dipping subduction zones are never fixed, irrespective of the choice of reference frame, while east to northeast-dipping subduction zones are both retreating and advancing in five out of seven global reference frames. In addition, westward-dipping subduction zones have a range in trench-migration velocities that is twice the magnitude of that for east to northeastward-dipping slabs. Finally, there is no recognizable correlation between slab dip direction and slab dip angle. East to northeast-dipping slabs (α = 30° to 120°) have shallow (0–125 km) slab dip angles in the range 10–60° and deep (125–670 km) slab dip angles in the range 40–82°, while west-dipping slabs (α = − 60° to − 120°) have shallow slab dip angles in the range 19–50° and deep slab dip angles in the range 25–86°. Local mean deep slab dip angles are nearly identical for east and west-dipping slabs, while local mean shallow slab dip angles are lower by only 4.7–8.1° for east to northeast-dipping slabs. It is thus concluded that overall, there is no observational basis to support the three predictions made by the westward drift model, and for some sub-predictions the observational basis is very weak at most. Alternative models, which incorporate and underline the importance of slab buoyancy-driven trench migration, slab width and overriding plate motion, are better candidates to explain the complexity of subduction zones, including the variety in trench-migration velocities, overriding plate deformation and slab dip angles.  相似文献   

13.
Using a recently developed petrogenetic grid for MORB + H2O, we propose a new model for the transportation of water from the subducting slab into the mantle transition zone. Depending on the geothermal gradient, two contrasting water-transportation mechanisms operate at depth in a subduction zone. If the geothermal gradient is low, lawsonite carries H2O into mantle depths of 300 km; with further subduction down to the mantle transition depth (approximately 400 km) lawsonite is no longer stable and thereafter H2O is once migrated upward to the mantle wedge then again carried down to the transition zone due to the induced convection. At this depth, hydrous β-phase olivine is stable and plays a role as a huge water reservoir. In contrast, if the geothermal gradient is high, the subducted slab may melt at 700–900 °C at depths shallower than 80 km to form felsic melt, into which water is dissolved. In this case, H2O cannot be transported into the mantle below 80 km. Between these two end-member mechanisms, two intermediate types are present. In the high-pressure intermediate type, the hydrous phase A plays an important role to carry water into the mantle transition zone. Water liberated by the lawsonite-consuming continuous reaction moves upward to form hydrous phase A in the hanging wall, which transports water into deeper mantle. This is due to a unique character of the reaction, because Phase A can become stable through the hydration reaction of olivine. In the case of low-pressure intermediate type, the presence of a dry mantle wedge below 100 km acts as a barrier to prevent H2O from entering into deeper mantle.  相似文献   

14.
As the fastest, lowest, flattest and amongst the most arid of continents, Australia preserves a unique geomorphic record of intraplate tectonic activity, evidencing at least three distinct modes of surface deformation since its rapid northward drift commenced around 43 million years ago. At long wavelengths (several 1000s km) systematic variations in the extent of Neogene marine inundation imply the continent has tilted north–down, southwest–up. At intermediate-wavelengths (several 100s km) several undulations of ~ 100–200 m amplitude have developed on the 1–10 myr timescale. At still shorter wavelengths (several 10s km), fault related motion has produced local relief at rates of up to ~ 100 m/myr over several million years. The long-wavelength, north–down tilting can be related to a dynamic topographic effect associated with Australia's northward drift from the geoid low, dynamic topography low now south of the continent to the geoid high, dynamic topography low centred above the south-east Asian and Melanesian subduction zones. The short wavelength, fault-related deformation is attributed in time to plate-wide increases in compressional stress levels as the result of distant plate boundary interactions and, in space, in part to variations in the thermal structure of the Australian lithosphere. At the intermediate wavelengths, transient, low amplitude undulations can be ascribed to either lithospheric buckling or the development of instabilities in the thermal boundary layer beneath the lithosphere. In the latter case, topographic asymmetries suggest the Australian lithosphere is moving north with respect to the mantle beneath, providing a unique attribution to the progressive alignment of seismic anisotropy and absolute plate motion observed near the base of the Australian lithosphere.  相似文献   

15.
Gravity studies have delineated the largest ultramafic massif in New Zealand, embedded within a buried major SW Pacific crustal suture zone. This suture records terrane collision onto the Gondwana margin during the Mesozoic and separates a forearc terrane from an outboard accretionary prism terrane. It can be traced throughout the length of New Zealand as the Junction Magnetic Anomaly and contains the Permian Dun Mountain Ophiolite Belt, which in the South Island of New Zealand is characterized by a string of isolated ultramafic massifs in a sheared matrix of serpentinite and sediment. Our analysis reveals a steep gravity gradient at the suture boundary which is attributed to a newly recognised density contrast (0.1 Mg m− 3) between terranes of the forearc and the accretionary prism. The massif itself is marked by the occurrence of a strong, elongate residual gravity anomaly (+ 120 g.u.) extending 50 km along the suture and coincident with the Junction Magnetic Anomaly. It is modelled, at its southern end, as a dense, 15 km wide source body, extending to at least 6 km in depth. In conjunction with detailed aeromagnetic data, this modeling indicates the presence of a spindle-shaped ultramafic massif, analogous to, but larger than similar bodies found within the Dun Mountain Ophiolite Belt elsewhere. This fabric of sheared serpentinites enclosing ultramafic massifs therefore extends at least the length of New Zealand and probably beyond. In part it may result from accretion of asperities in the subducting plate, but it is also due to disruption of larger ultramafic bodies during subsequent strike-slip motion, which caused the remarkable linearity of the Dun Mountain Belt. Given the common occurrence of the plate tectonic processes involved, it is likely that such structures can be found in other regions around the world using similar geophysical potential field methods.  相似文献   

16.
The study region forms the western part of the Madurai block (southern block) and shares several lithological characteristics of the Proterozoic exhumed South Indian Granulite Terrain (SGT). The crustal structure of the area has been derived from gravity data, constrained partly by aeromagnetic data. The Bouguer anomaly map of the region prepared based on detailed gravity observations shows a number of features (i) the Periyar lineament separates two distinctly different gravity fields, one, a high gravity gradient tending to be positive towards the coast in south west and significant gravity lows ranging from − 85 to as low as − 150 mGal in the NE covering a large part of the Periyar plateau (ii) within the broad gravity low, three localised circular anomalies of considerable amplitude occur in the region of Munnar granite. A magnetic low region in the central part coincides with the area of retrogressed charnockites and the major lineaments suggestive of a genetic link and considerable downward extent. The crustal models indicate that the upper layer containing exhumed lower crustal rocks (2.76 gm/cc) is almost homogeneous, most part of the gravity field resulting from variations in intracrustal layers of decharnockitised hornblendic gneisses and granite bodies. Below it, a denser layer (2.85 gm/cc) of unknown composition exists with Moho depth ranging from 36 to 41 km. The structure below the region is compared with that of two other segments of the SGT from which it differs markedly. The Wynad plateau forming the western part of the Northern Block of the SGT is characterised by a heterogeneity due to the presence of contrasting crustal blocks on either side of the Bavali shear zone, possibly a westward extension of the Moyar shear zone and presence of high density material in the mid-to-lower crustal portions. The crust below the Kuppam–Palani transect has a distinctive four-layer structure with a mid-crustal low density layer. The differences in crustal structure are consistent with the different tectonic settings of the three regions discussed in the paper. It is suggested that the crustal structure below the Kuppam–Palani transect corridor is not representative of the SGT as a whole, an aspect of great relevance to intra-continental comparisons and trans-continental reconstructions of continent configurations of the Gondwanaland.  相似文献   

17.
《Gondwana Research》2014,25(3-4):936-945
Body wave seismic tomography is a successful technique for mapping lithospheric material sinking into the mantle. Focusing on the India/Asia collision zone, we postulate the existence of several Asian continental slabs, based on seismic global tomography. We observe a lower mantle positive anomaly between 1100 and 900 km depths, that we interpret as the signature of a past subduction process of Asian lithosphere, based on the anomaly position relative to positive anomalies related to Indian continental slab. We propose that this anomaly provides evidence for south dipping subduction of North Tibet lithospheric mantle, occurring along 3000 km parallel to the Southern Asian margin, and beginning soon after the 45 Ma break-off that detached the Tethys oceanic slab from the Indian continent. We estimate the maximum length of the slab related to the anomaly to be 400 km. Adding 200 km of presently Asian subducting slab beneath Central Tibet, the amount of Asian lithospheric mantle absorbed by continental subduction during the collision is at most 600 km. Using global seismic tomography to resolve the geometry of Asian continent at the onset of collision, we estimate that the convergence absorbed by Asia during the indentation process is ~ 1300 km. We conclude that Asian continental subduction could accommodate at most 45% of the Asian convergence. The rest of the convergence could have been accommodated by a combination of extrusion and shallow subduction/underthrusting processes. Continental subduction is therefore a major lithospheric process involved in intraplate tectonics of a supercontinent like Eurasia.  相似文献   

18.
We present a new three-dimensional SV-wave velocity model for the upper mantle beneath South America and the surrounding oceans, built from the waveform inversion of 5850 Rayleigh wave seismograms. The dense path coverage and the use of higher modes to supplement the fundamental mode of surface waves allow us to constrain seismic heterogeneities with horizontal wavelengths of a few hundred kilometres in the uppermost 400 km of the mantle.The large scale features of our tomographic model confirm previous results from global and regional tomographic studies (e.g. the depth extent of the high velocity cratonic roots down to about 200–250 km).Several new features are highlighted in our model. Down to 100 km depth, the high velocity lid beneath the Amazonian craton is separated in two parts associated with the Guyana and Guapore shields, suggesting that the rifting episode responsible for the formation of the Amazon basin has involved a significant part of the lithosphere. Along the Andean subduction belt, the structure of the high velocity anomaly associated with the sudbduction of the Nazca plate beneath the South American plate reflects the along-strike variation in dip of the subducting plate. Slow velocities are observed down to about 100 km and 150 km at the intersection of the Carnegie and Chile ridges with the continent and are likely to represent the thermal anomalies associated with the subducted ridges. These lowered velocities might correspond to zones of weakness in the subducted plate and may have led to the formation of “slab windows” developed through unzipping of the subducted ridges; these windows might accommodate a transfer of asthenospheric mantle from the Pacific to the Atlantic ocean. From 150 to 250 km depth, the subducting Nazca plate is associated with high seismic velocities between 5°S and 37°S. We find high seismic velocities beneath the Paraná basin down to about 200 km depth, underlain by a low velocity anomaly in the depth range 200–400 km located beneath the Ponta Grossa arc at the southern tip of the basin. This high velocity anomaly is located southward of a narrow S-wave low velocity structure observed between 200 and 500–600 km depth in body wave studies, but irresolvable with our long period datasets. Both anomalies point to a model in which several, possibly diachronous, plumes have risen to the surface to generate the Paraná large igneous province (LIP).  相似文献   

19.
Three-dimensional P-wave velocity structure beneath the Changbai and other intraplate volcanic areas in Northeast Asia is determined by inverting 1378 high-quality P-wave arrival times from 186 teleseismic events recorded by 61 broadband seismic stations. Low-velocity (low-V) anomalies are revealed beneath the Changbai, Longgan, Xianjindao volcanoes. High-velocity (high-V) anomalies are found in the mantle transition zone, where deep-focus earthquakes under Hunchun occur at depths of 500–600 km. The high-V anomaly reflects the deep subduction of the Pacific slab under NE Asia which may have contributed to the formation of the Changbai, Longgang, Xianjindao and Jingpohu intraplate volcanoes. A low-V anomaly is also revealed in the mantle transition zone, which may have a close relationship with the occurrence of deep earthquakes under the Hunchun area. Our results support the Big Mantle Wedge (BMW) model by Zhao et al. [Zhao, D., Lei, J., Tang, Y., 2004. Origin of the Changbai volcano in northeast China: evidence from seismic tomography, Chin. Sci. Bull. 49, 1401–1408; Zhao, D., Maruyama, S., Omori, S., 2007. Mantle dynamics of western Pacific and East Asia: insight from seismic tomography and mineral physics. Gondwana Res. 11, 120–131.] who proposed that the intraplate volcanoes in NE Asia are caused by the back-arc magmatism associated with the deep dehydration process of the subducting slab and convective circulation process in the BMW above the stagnant Pacific slab.  相似文献   

20.
The Southern Granulite Terrain (SGT) is composed of high-grade granulite domain occurring to the south of Dharwar Craton (DC). The structural units of SGT show a marked change in the structural trend from the dominant north–south in DC to east–west trend in SGT and primarily consist of different crustal blocks divided by major shear zones. The Bouguer anomaly map prepared based on nearly 3900 gravity observations shows that the anomalies are predominantly negative and vary between −125 mGal and +22 mGal. The trends of the anomalies follow structural grain of the terrain and exhibit considerable variations within the charnockite bodies. Two-dimensional wavelength filtering as well as Zero Free-air based (ZFb) analysis of the Geoid-Corrected Bouguer Anomaly map of the region is found to be very useful in preparing regional gravity anomaly map and inversion of this map gave rise to crustal thicknesses of 37–44 km in the SGT. Crustal density structure along four regional gravity profiles cutting across major shear zones, lineaments, plateaus and other important geological structures bring out the following structural information. The Bavali Shear Zone extending at least up to 10 km depth is manifested as a plane separating two contrasting upper crustal blocks on both sides and the gravity high north of it reveals the presence of a high density mass at the base of the crust below Coorg. The steepness of the Moyar and Bhavani shears on either side of Nilgiri plateau indicates uplift of the plateau due to block faulting with a high density mass at the crustal base. The Bhavani Shear Zone is manifested as a steep southerly dipping plane extending to deeper levels along which alkaline and granite rocks intruded into the top crustal layer. The gravity high over Palghat gap is due to the upwarping of Moho by 1–2 km with the presence of a high density mass at intermediate crustal levels. The gravity low in Periyar plateau is due to the granite emplacement, mid-crustal interface and the thicker crust. The feeble gravity signature across the Achankovil shear characterized by sharp velocity contrast indicates that the shear is not a superficial structure but a crustal scale zone of deformation reaching up to mid-crustal level.  相似文献   

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