Deep structure of the Southeast Asian curved subduction system and its dynamic process

The deep structure,material circulation,and dynamic processes in the Southeast Asia have long been an elusive scientific puzzle due to the lack of systematic scientific observations and recognized theoretical models.Based on the deep seismic tomography using long-period natural earthquake data,in this study,the deep structure and material circulation of the curved subduction system in Southeast Asia was studied,and the dynamic processes since 100 million years ago was reconstructed.It is pointed out that challenges still exist in the precise reconstruction of deep mantle structures of the study area,the influence of multi-stage subduction on deep material exchange and shallow magma activity,as well as the spatiotemporal evolution and coupling mechanism of multi-plate convergence.Future work should focus on high-resolution land-sea joint 3-D seismic tomography imaging of the curved subduction system in the Southeast Asia,combined with geochemical analysis and geodynamic modelling works.

Density Structure of the Papua New Guinea-Solomon Arc Subduction System

The Papua New Guinea-Solomon(PN-SL)arc is one of the regions with active crustal motions and strong geological actions.Thus,its complex subduction system makes it an ideal laboratory for studying the initiation mechanism of plate subduction.However,the PN-SL subduction system has not yet been sufficiently studied,and its density structure has yet to be revealed.In this paper,we used the free-air gravity data,Parker-Oldenburg density surface inversion method,and the genetic algorithm density inversion method to obtain the density structure of an approximately 1000-km-long northwest-southeast line crossing the PN-SL subduction system under the constraints of the CRUST1.0 global crustal model,onshore seismic data,and the LLNL-G3Dv3 global P-wave velocity model.The density structure shows that density differences between the plates on the two sides of the trench could play a significant role in plate subduction.

Magmatism-Related Thermal Simulation of Volcanic Arcs in the Molucca Sea Bidirectional Subduction System

The bidirectional subduction system,island arc magmatic activities,and thermal structure of the forearc basin in the Molucca Sea are taken into consideration in this study.The active volcanic arcs on both sides of the bidirectional subduction zone in the Molucca Sea are undergoing arc-arc collisions.We applied a finite element thermal simulation method to reconstruct the thermal evolution history of the Molucca Sea Plate based on geophysical data.Then,we analyzed the thermodynamic characteristics of island arc volcanism on both sides of the bidirectional subduction zone.The results showed that at 10Myr,the oceanic ridge of the Molucca Sea Plate was asymmetrically biased to the west,causing this bidirectional subduction to be deeper in the west than in the east.Furthermore,the oceanic ridge subducted under the Sangihe arc at 5.5Myr,causing intermittent cessation of volcanic activities.Due to the convergence of bidirectional subduction,the geothermal gradient in the top 3km depth of the forearc area between the Sangihe and Halmahera arcs decreased from about 60℃km^(−1) at 4Myr to about 38℃km^(−1) today.Finally,within the 45–100 km depth range of the sliding surface of the subduction,anomalously high-temperature zones formed due to shear friction during the bidirectional subduction.

Characteristics of Paleoproterozoic Subduction System in Western Margin of Yangtze Plate

Paleoproterozoic subduction strongly occurred in the western margin of Yangtze plate. The basalticandesite volcanics of Ailaoshan Group and Dibadu Formation had been formed during paleo QinghaiTibet oceanic plate subduction under the paleoYangtze plate. Their trace element geochemistry suggests that their forming environments are continentalmarginarc and back arcbasin respectively. Consequently, the Paleoproterozoic subduction system in the western margin of Yangtze plate was established. Ailaoshan Group and Dibadu Formation came from an enriched mantle source that was contaminated by crustal sediments carried by subducted slab, and formed the Paleoroterozoic metamorphic basement of western margin of Yangtze plate. Ailaoshan Group is actually western boundary of Yangtze plate.

Anomalous elasticity of talc at high pressures:Implications for subduction systems

Talc is a layered hydrous silicate mineral that plays a vital role in transporting water into Earth’s interior and is crucial for explaining geophysical observations in subduction zone settings.In this study,we explored the structure,equation of state,and elasticity of both triclinic and monoclinic talc under high pressures up to 18 GPa using first principles simulations based on density functional theory corrected for dispersive forces.Our results indicate that principal components of the full elastic constant tensor C_(11) and C_(22),shear components C_(66),and several off-diagonal components show anomalous pressure dependence.This non-monotonic pressure dependence of elastic constant components is likely related to the structural changes and is often manifested in a polytypic transition from a low-pressure polytype talc-I to a high-pressure polytype talc-Ⅱ.The polytypic transition of talc occurs at pressures within its thermodynamic stability.However,the bulk and shear elastic moduli show no anomalous softening.Our study also shows that talc has low velocity,extremely high anisotropy,and anomalously high V_(P)/V_(S) ratio,thus making it a potential candidate mineral phase that could readily explain unusually high V_(P)/V_(S) ratio and large shear wave splitting delays as observed from seismological studies in many subduction systems.

Growth of forearc highs and basins in the oblique Sumatra subduction system

Based on structural deformation analysis in the oblique Sumatra subduction system, we review uplift mechanisms of the forearc high and formation of the forearc basin. The development of the forearc high has been attributed to the flexural uplift, basin inversion, uplift of older accretion wedge, and backthrust in the landward margin of the accretion wedge. Observation of recently acquired seismic reflection data shows that the interplay between trenchward-vergent thrusts and arcward-vergent backthrusts has played a major role in the uplift of forearc high. The uplifted sediments on the forearc high were previously formed in a forearc basin environment. The present-day morphology of the forearc high and forearc basin is related to the uplift of the accretionary wedge and the overlying forearc basin sediments during Pliocene. Regardless of obliquity in the subduction system, the Sumatran forearc region is dominated by compression that plays an important role in forming Neogene basin depocenters that elongated parallel to the trench.

Erratum to:Geodynamic processes of the southeastern Neo-Tethys Ocean and the formation mechanism of the curved subduction system in Southeast Asia

The research paper"Geodynamic processes of the southeastern Neo-Tethys Ocean and the formation mechanism of the curved subduction system in Southeast Asia"(Sci China Earth Sci,2023,66:703-717)contained errors.The corrections in an erratum do not change or affect the result or conclusion of the paper.

Geodynamic processes of the southeastern Neo-Tethys Ocean and the formation mechanism of the curved subduction system in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia is located at the intersection of the Tethys and Pacific domains. The superimposed effects of the two tectonic domains have resulted in complicated deep structure, surface magma responses, and dynamic processes of Southeast Asia. Based on the latest long-term passive seismic experiment and numerical modeling, this study reconstructs the dynamic processes of the closure of the Neo-Tethys Ocean and the formation of the curved subduction system in Southeast Asia since the Late Mesozoic. P-wave velocity structure shows a remnant of the Neo-Tethys subducted slab in the lower mantle beneath Southeast Asia at a depth of approximately 1500 km. On the Java-East Timor subduction zone, the remnant slab is coupled with the Indo-Australian subducting slab in the upper mantle with the same direction, while on the Sumatra subduction zone, the remnant slab is decoupled from the Indo-Australian subducting slab in different directions. The formation of the curved subduction system in Southeast Asia is resulted from the northward subdcutions of previous Neo-Tethys and current IndoAustralian Plate, and the westward subduction of the Pacific Plate since Mesozoic. The former is characterized by continuous subduction and subsequent continental block collision, forming the current continental lithosphere in Southeast Asia and the curve-shaped Sumatra-Java subduction zone;the latter is characterized by subduction retreat and back-arc spreading, forming the eastern Philippine subduction zone and a series of marginal sea basins. Since the Early Cretaceous, the opening of the North Australian Sea resulted in stagnation of the Australian Block in the high latitude area of the southern hemisphere for a long time.The North Australian Sea was dominated by out-dipping double subduction from 45 Ma, which resulted in rapid northward drifting of the Australian Block and final collision with the Sundaland.

Remnant Paleoproterozoic Subduction or Lithospheric Drip Initiation at the Yilgarn Craton Margin:Constraints from P-wave Tomography

The Paleoproterozoic was a critical time in whether modern-style plate tectonics had become globally dominant(e.g.,Wan et al.,2020).The Capricorn Orogen witnessed the assembly of the Pilbara and Yilgarn Cratons and an exotic microcontinent,the Glenburgh Terrane,to form the West Australia Craton(WAC)through two collisional orogenic events,the 2215–2145 Ma Ophthalmian and 2005–1950 Ma Glenburgh Orogenies(Johnson et al.,2013;Fig.1).Compared to other Proterozoic orogenic belts in Australia,the Capricorn Orogen preserves‘complete'opposing continental margin successions,together with intervening arc fragments associated with oceanic closure and foreland basins associated with collisional loading(Cawood et al.,2009).

Coseismic Coulomb stress changes induced by a 2020-2021 M_(W)>7.0 Alaska earthquake sequence in and around the Shumagin gap and its influence on the Alaska-Aleutian subduction interface

Three M_(W)>7.0 earthquakes in 2020-2021 occurred in the Shumagin seismic gap and its adjacent area of the Alaska-Aleutian subduction zone,including the Mw7.8 Simeonof thrust earthquake on July 22,2020,the M_(W)7.6 Sand Point strike-slip earthquake on October 19,2020,and the M_(W)8.2 Chignik thrust earthquake on July 29,2021.The spatial and temporal proximity of these three earthquakes prompts us to probe stress-triggering effects among them.Here we examine the coseismic Coulomb stress change imparted by the three earthquakes and their influence on the subduction interface.Our results show that:(1)The Simeonof earthquake has strong loading effects on the subsequent Sand Point and Chignik earthquakes,with the Coulomb stress changes of 3.95 bars and 2.89 bars,respectively.The Coulomb stress change caused by the Sand Point earthquake at the hypocenter of the Chignik earthquake is merely around 0.01 bars,suggesting the negligible triggering effect on the latter earthquake;(2)The triggering effects of the Simeonof,Sand Point,and Chignik earthquakes on aftershocks within three months are not well pronounced because of the triggering rates of 38%,14%,and 43%respectively.Other factors may have played an important role in promoting the occurrence of these aftershocks,such as the roughness of the subduction interface,the complicated velocity structure of the lithosphere,and the heterogeneous prestress therein;(3)The three earthquakes caused remarkable coseismic Coulomb stress changes at the subduction interface nearby these mainshocks,with an average Coulomb stress change of 3.2 bars in the shallow region directly inwards the trench.

An Intra-Oceanic Subduction System Influenced by Ridge Subduction in the Diyanmiao Subduction Accretionary Complex of the Xar Moron Area,Eastern Margin of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt

This study focuses on the geology,geochemistry,Sr-Nd isotopes and their tectonic settings of three types of basalts in Diyanmiao ophiolite in the Xar Moron area located on the eastern margin of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt.Type I basalts are oceanic tholeiites with a depleted light rare earth element(LREE)pattern,which are similar to the typical N-mid-oceanic ridge basalt(MORB)and suggests that they were formed at a mid-oceanic ridge.The initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios of Type I basalts range from 0.703966 to 0.705276 and theεNd(t)values are from 16.49 to 17.15,indicating that they were derived from a depleted mantle source.Type II basalts belong to the medium-potassium calc-akaline series and have the geochem-ical characteristics of Nb-enriched basalt(NEB)with high Nb content(14.5 ppm)and strong enrichment in LREEs,implying that they were created by the partial melting of mantle wedge peridotite that previously metasomatized by slab melts.Type III basalts are high-Al basalt(HAB)with high-Al contents(Al_(2)0_(3)=16.75 wt.%-18.00 wt.%),distinct Nb depletion and high Th/Yb ratios.Thus they were likely gen-erated in a normal island-arc setting.Therefore,the association of MORB,NEB,and HAB in the study area may be due to the subduction of a mid-oceanic ridge,and the Diyanmiao ophiolite is proposed to be formed in the forearc setting of a mid-oceanic ridge subduction system.

Micro-textures in plagioclase from 1994-1995 eruption, Barren Island Volcano: Evidence of dynamic magma plumbing system in the Andaman subduction zone

A systematic account of micro-textures and a few compositional profiles of plagioclase from high-alumina basaltic aa lava erupted during the year 1994-1995, from Barren Island Volcano, NE India ocean, are presented for the first time. The identified micro-textures can be grouped into two categories： （i） Growth related textures in the form of coarse/fine-sieve morphology, fine-scale oscillatory zoning and resorption surfaces resulted when the equilibrium at the crystal-melt interface was fluctuated due to change in temperature or H20 or pressure or composition of the crystallizing melt; and （ii） morphological texture, like glomerocryst, synneusis, swallow-tailed crystal, microlite and broken crystals, formed by the influence of dynamic behavior of the crystallizing magma （convection, turbulence, degassing, etc.）. Each micro-texture has developed in a specific magmatic environment, accordingly, a first order magma plumbing model and crystallization dynamics are envisaged for the studied lava unit. Magma generated has undergone extensive fractional crystallization of An-rich plagioclase in stable magmatic environment at a deeper depth. Subsequently they ascend to a shallow chamber where the newly brought crystals and pre-existing crystals have undergone dynamic crystallization via dissolution-regrowth processes in a convective self- mixing environment. Such repeated recharge-recycling processes have produced various populations of plagioclase with different micro-textural stratigraphy in the studied lava unit. Intermittent degassing and eruption related decompression have also played a major role in the final stage of crystallization dynamics.

Characterization of subduction initiation

Compression is required for all kinds of subduction initiations,which may cause either subsidence or uplift,depending on the ages of the oceanic plates.Subduction initiations associated with the old oceanic crust tend to amplify preexisting subsidence by compression,whereas those associated with young oceanic plates may result in uplift.

Coupling between the Cenozoic west Pacific subduction initiation and decreases of atmospheric carbon dioxides

At the beginning of the Cenozoic,the atmospheric CO_(2)concentration increased rapidly from~2000 ppmv at 60 Ma to~4600 ppmv at 51 Ma,which is 5–10 times higher than the present value,and then continuous declined from~51 to 34 Ma.The cause of this phenomenon is still not well understood.In this study,we demonstrate that the initiation of Cenozoic west Pacific plate subduction,triggered by the hard collision in the Tibetan Plateau,occurred at approximately 51 Ma,coinciding with the tipping point.The water depths of the Pacific subduction zones are mostly below the carbonate compensation depths,while those of the Neo-Tethys were much shallower before the collision and caused far more carbonate subducting.Additionally,more volcanic ashes erupted from the west Pacific subduction zones,which consume CO_(2).The average annual west Pacific volvano eruption is 1.11 km~3,which is higher than previous estimations.The amount of annual CO_(2)absorbed by chemical weathering of additional west Pacific volcanic ashes could be comparable to the silicate weathering by the global river.We propose that the initiation of the western Pacific subduction controlled the long-term reduction of atmospheric CO_(2)concentration.

Topography of the 660-km discontinuity within the Izu-Bonin subduction zone and evidence of slab penetration near the Bonin Super Deep Earthquake(~680 km)

The Izu-Bonin subduction zone in the Northwest Pacific is an ideal location for understanding mantle dynamics such as cold lithosphere subduction. The slab produces a lateral thermal anomaly, inducing local topographic changes at the boundary of a post-spinel phase transformation, considered to be the origin of the ‘660-km discontinuity.’ In this study, the short-period(1–2 Hz) S-to-P conversion phase S660P was used to obtain the fine-scale structure of the discontinuity. More than 100 earthquakes that occurred from the 1980s to the 2020s and were recorded by high-quality seismic arrays in the United States and Europe were analyzed. A discontinuity in the ambient mantle with an average depth of ~670 km was found beneath the 300–400-km event zone in the northern Bonin region near 33°N. Meanwhile, the ‘660-km discontinuity’ has been pushed upward, away from the slab, possibly because of a hot upwelling mantle plume. In the central part of the subduction zone, the 660-km discontinuity is depressed to an average depth of(690 ± 5) km within the slab at approximately 150 km below the coldest slab core, indicating a(300 ± 100) ℃ cold anomaly estimated using a post-spinel transformation Clapeyron slope of(-2.0 ± 1.0) MPa/K. In southern Bonin near 28°N, the discontinuity was found to be further depressed at an average depth of(695 ± 5) km below the deepest event and with a focal depth of ~550 km. The discontinuity is located where the slab bends abruptly to become sub-horizontal toward the west-southwest. Near the zone of the isolated Bonin Super Deep Earthquake, which occurred at ~680 km on May 30,2015, the discontinuity is depressed to ~700 km, suggesting a near-vertical penetrating slab and an S-to-P conversion in the coldest slab core, where a large low-temperature anomaly should exist.

An assessment of the subduction rate in the CMIP6 historical experiment

Subduction process is a dynamical bridge for the exchanges of heat between the atmosphere and subsurface ocean water,which is regarded as a central proxy for the ocean climate studies.Given its key indicator in climate signals,it is of importance to examine the ability of a model to simulate the global subduction rate before investigating the climate dynamics.In this paper,we evaluated the ability of 21 climate models from Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6(CMIP6)in simulating the subduction rate.In general,the simulation ability of the models to the subduction climatology is better than that to the long-term variation trend.Based on the comprehensive analysis of climatology distribution and long-term trend of the subduction rate,GISS-E2-1-G performs better in reproducing the subduction rate climatology and IPSL-CM6A-LR can simulate positive long-term trend for both the global mean subduction rate and the lateral induction term in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current(ACC)region.However,it is still challenging to capture both the distribution characteristics of the subduction climatology and the long-term temporal trend for the 21 CMIP6 models.In addition,the model results demonstrate that,the ACC area is the major region contributing to the long-term trend of the global mean subduction rate.The analysis in this paper indicates that the poor simulation ability of reproducing the long-term trend of global mean subduction rate might be attributed to the ocean dynamics,for example,the zonal velocity at the bottom mixed layer and zonal gradient of mixed layer depth.

Aseismic ridge subduction and flat subduction:Insights from three-dimensional numerical models

Flat subduction can significantly influence the distribution of volcanism,stress state,and surface topography of the overriding plate.However,the mechanisms for inducing flat subduction remain controversial.Previous two-dimensional(2-D)numerical models and laboratory analogue models suggested that a buoyant impactor(aseismic ridge,oceanic plateau,or the like)may induce flat subduction.However,three-dimensional(3-D)systematic studies on the relationship between flat subduction and buoyant blocks are still lacking.Here,we use a 3-D numerical model to investigate the influence of the aseismic ridge,especially its width(which is difficult to consider in 2-D numerical models),on the formation of flat subduction.Our model results suggest that the aseismic ridge needs to be wide and thick enough to induce flat subduction,a condition that is difficult to satisfy on the Earth.We also find that the subduction of an aseismic ridge parallel to the trench or a double aseismic ridge normal to the trench has a similar effect on super-wide aseismic ridge subduction in terms of causing flat subduction,which can explain the flat subduction observed beneath regions such as Chile and Peru.

Origin of submarine canyon-channel systems along the middle segment of West Mariana Ridge,Philippine Sea

Submarine canyon-channel systems have been documented in the Parece Vela Basin,West Mariana Ridge;however,the mechanism of the formation and controlling factors remain poorly understood.Based on high-resolution multibeam bathymetric data and two-dimensional(2D)seismic profiles,we identified and mapped the submarine canyon-channel system along the middle segment of West Mariana Ridge in the Philippine Sea.These submarine canyon-channels show a main W-E orientation at depth of 2000–4500 m.They are approximately 72–128 km in length and 1.3–15 km in width,and their canyon heads are adjacent to the seamounts with several branches.The upper reaches of submarine canyon-channels are characterized by deeply incised,narrow,V-shaped thalwegs,suggesting the powerful erosion of gravity flows.The distinguished sediment waves are suggested to be resulted from the interaction of turbidity currents and seafloor.Our observations demonstrate that gravity flows originated from the collapses of seamount flanks plays a vital role in developing the submarine canyonchannel system along the West Mariana Ridge.This work provides better understanding of erosion,transport,and deposition of sediments from subducting ridges to deep-water basins,and also new insights into the origin and evolution of submarine canyon-channel systems along subducting ridges.

Carbonatite Occurrence in Ambaji-Sendra Belt of NW Indian Shield: Evidence of Carbonatitic Magmatism in the Subduction Setting

The paper represents a new discovery of a late Mesoproterozoic lenticular and discontinuous, carbonatitic body exposed at Basantgarh, Sendra and near the Abu-road area of the Ambaji-Sendra belt of the South Delhi Fold Belt. It is medium to coarse-grained and light to dark coloured compact rock. The common associates of the carbonatitic rock are felsic rocks, rich in alkalies. Carbonatite contains more than 50% carbonate minerals, the majority of which are calcite, dolomite, ankerite, augite-aegirine augite and plagioclase. It is classified as calcite carbonatite of the sövite variety due to its coarse-grained character, chemically as calico-carbonatite and magnesio-carbonatite and even as silico-carbonatites for having more than 20% SiO2. The ∑REE contents of calico-carbonatite samples are nearly 100 times greater than magnesio-carbonatite. Chondrite normalised REE profiles of calcio-carbonatites are LREE enriched with nearly flat HREEs whereas the magnesio-carbonatite is characterised by flat REE patterns. The mantle-normalized incompatible trace element spidergram of Ambaji-Sendra belt carbonatites shows distinct negative anomalies of Ba, Nb, Ta, P, Sm, Eu, Ti and Y and positive at U and Pb by calcio-carbonatite whereas the magnesio-carbonatite displays negative kinks at K, Zr, Nb, Ta and Ti and positive at Th, Pb and Sr. The variable and/or contrasting enrichment/depletion in various elements in the two types of Ambaji-Sendra belt carbonatite is attributed either to significant differences in the type and modal proportion of different accessory mineral species or selective incorporation of metasomatic fluids during the subduction process. The chemical attributes of Ambaji-Sendra belt carbonatite suggest its emplacement in subduction settings.

Enlightenment of the Mariana Fore-arc Sedimentary Basin Evolution to the Subduction Process

The Mariana subduction structure is a hot topic in ocean-ocean subduction zone research,and its subduction mechanism has attracted wide attention from experts and scholars in China and abroad.Based on the multi-channel seismic data of survey line MGL1204 in the Mariana fore-arc and DSDP ocean drilling data,this paper studies the development and evolution characteristics of the structure and strata in the Cenozoic Mariana fore-arc sedimentary basin.The Cenozoic strata are divided into six seismic sequences,with the possible era of each seismic sequence discerned,and the relationship between fault development and earthquakes analyzed.The episodic activity of the volcanic chain of the Mariana island arc is thought to control the tectonic and stratigraphic development pattern of the Cenozoic sedimentary basin in the fore-arc.Between 16°N-19°N and 146°E-151°E,the maximum thickness of the sedimentary center of the Cenozoic fore-arc sedimentary basin in Mariana is about 2360 m.Normal faults are developed in the area and some broke to the seabed,indicating that the Mariana island arc is still in the post-arc expansion stage.The application of multi-channel seismic sections in structural and stratigraphic evolution study is an important means to elucidating the Mariana subduction mechanism.