Article
Geology
Xiaowen Liu, Claire A. Currie
Summary: The Sierras Pampeanas in South America were formed due to flat-slab subduction of the Nazca plate, which began approximately 12 million years ago. The presence of a buoyant ridge triggered slab flattening and resulted in regional continental compression. The deformation within the continent was controlled by the preexisting structure, leading to surface uplifts and shortening at weak zones. The migration of deformation was influenced by surface topography caused by the buoyant ridge rather than basal shear from the growing flat slab.
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Changsheng Guo, Pengchao Sun, Dongping Wei
Summary: This study investigates the factors in the development of a young flat-slab during the wedge subduction process after a ridge subduction. The results show that a flat-slab generally forms before the slab age reaches 40 Myr, except in special cases.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Lijun Liu, Diandian Peng, Liang Liu, Ling Chen, Sanzhong Li, Yaoyi Wang, Zebin Cao, Mingye Feng
Summary: East Asia is characterized by an east-west topographic dichotomy on the two sides of the North-South Gravity Lineament (NSGL), which marks a sudden change in the thickness of the continental crust and lithospheric mantle. The unique East Asian lithospheric structure likely formed no earlier than the Cretaceous, with two episodes of Mesozoic flat slabs significantly influencing the region's evolution.
EARTH-SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
John Cornthwaite, Maximiliano J. Bezada, Wenpei Miao, Michael Schmitz, German A. Prieto, Viviana Dionicio, Fenglin Niu, Alan Levander
Summary: The study reveals the subduction structures of the Caribbean plate beneath northwest South America, identifying a detached subducting segment that significantly impacts the uplift of the Merida Andes region. By integrating various datasets, it is concluded that the northern limit of subduction lies south of the Oca-Ancon fault, while the southern limit is located south of the study area.
GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Liang Liu, Lijun Liu, Yi-Gang Xu
Summary: Comparing the geological records of East Asia and the western United States during flat subduction periods reveals significant differences in crustal deformation and magmatic activity. Numerical models show that a buoyant flat slab in East Asia can explain the observed crustal evolution and melting mechanism, which likely resulted from the subduction of buoyant continental lithosphere associated with exotic terranes along the east coast. The observation of flat slab underplating in East Asia suggests the formation of a giant composite flat slab that defined the J2-K1 intraplate tectonism within the region.
EARTH-SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Sarah W. M. George, Nicholas D. Perez, William Struble, Magdalena Ellis Curry, Brian K. Horton
Summary: Subduction of aseismic ridges and flat slab subduction play important roles in Cordilleran orogenesis, enhancing rock uplift and exhumation in the overriding plate. Distinguishing between these drivers is possible in the Peruvian flat slab subduction zone, where the interactions between aseismic ridges and flat slab subduction can be assessed.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Coleman D. Hiett, Dennis L. Newell, Micah J. Jessup
Summary: New helium isotope ratios and gas species abundances in thermal springs above the Peruvian flat slab suggest widespread transit of mantle-derived volatiles through thick continental crust, indicating active continental hydration in a modern flat-slab subduction system beneath the northern Altiplano. Similar results from springs in the backarc region to the south of the flat slab imply ongoing dehydration and/or partial melting resulting from mid-Cenozoic flat-slab subduction events.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
T. S. Waldien, R. O. Lease, S. M. Roeske, J. A. Benowitz, P. B. O'Sullivan
Summary: Our study shows that the dextral Denali fault system in the eastern Alaska Range has facilitated bedrock exhumation and topographic growth during oblique flat slab subduction. The data suggest that most high topography regions in southern Alaska have undergone rapid bedrock cooling and exhumation since 30 Ma, with active strike-slip fault systems playing a key role.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Diandian Peng, Lijun Liu, Yaoyi Wang
Summary: The study evaluates the presence of a flat slab beneath East Asia during the Late Cretaceous, showing its correlation with the pre-Cretaceous subduction history along the western Pacific and Tethyan trenches. The physical model explains the thinning of the East Asian lithosphere.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Andrea Perez-Silva, Duo Li, Alice-Agnes Gabriel, Yoshihiro Kaneko
Summary: In the Guerrero Seismic Gap, Mexico, quasi-periodic long-term slow slip events (SSEs) of magnitude up to M(w)7.5 occur about every 4 years. The flat-slab segment of the Cocos plate contributes to the large magnitudes and long recurrence interval of these SSEs. The 3D slab geometry is crucial in enhancing our understanding of the physics of slow slip events.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
W. P. Schellart, V Strak
Summary: In this study, buoyancy-driven numerical geodynamic models were used to investigate the formation and evolution of flat slab subduction. The research found that flat slab subduction can occur without external forcing and that the duration of flat slab subduction is controlled by the strength of the overriding plate. Additionally, three modes of flat slab subduction were identified under different model parameter combinations, offering a potential explanation for the termination of flat slab subduction.
GEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL
(2021)
Review
Geology
Jun Yan, Shanling Fu, Shen Liu, Luming Wei, Tianxing Wang
Summary: The giant Sb metallogenic belt in South China is an important source of global antimony reserves and production, characterized by specific features and a proposed geological formation.
ORE GEOLOGY REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Xiaowen Liu, Russell Pysklywec
Summary: The study finds that the deformation of flat slabs to steep-angle slabs induces oblique mantle flow. Slab tears are caused by the buoyancy contrast between the oceanic ridge and the dense oceanic crust, or the presence of weak zones. Slab tears trigger toroidal mantle flow and continental upwelling, affecting magma activity. Horizontal tears in flat slabs enhance plate-motion parallel flow. The tear-induced flow is transient, with peak velocity an order of magnitude higher than plate motion.
GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS
(2023)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Coleman D. Hiett, Dennis L. Newell, Micah J. Jessup, Tyler A. Grambling, Brandt E. Scott, Heather E. Upin
Summary: Gas-rich hot springs in the Peruvian Andes contain mantle and crustal volatiles, despite being located in volcanic gaps associated with flat-slab subduction. These findings suggest that volatile gases are released from the mantle and crust, and have implications for geological and environmental research.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Jacob O. Thacker, Karl E. Karlstrom, Shari A. Kelley, Ryan S. Crow, Jerry J. Kendall
Summary: This study interprets the Late Cretaceous tectonism across the Colorado Plateau and southern Rocky Mountains in relation to the Laramide orogenic mechanisms. The onset of Laramide arch development is estimated using thermochronologic samples and inverse models. The results suggest that tectonism started around 90 Ma in northwestern Arizona and progressed eastward, with a later onset in north-central New Mexico around 75-70 Ma.
GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA BULLETIN
(2023)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Lingyu Zhang, Kristoffer Szilas
Summary: This study presents new petrological and geochemical data for the Narssaq Ultramafic Body (NUB) in the Itsaq Gneiss Complex of SW Greenland. The results indicate that the ultramafic rocks of NUB are not mantle residues, but instead represent crustal cumulates derived from high-Mg magmas.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2024)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Rong Xu, Sarah Lambart, Oliver Nebel, Ming Li, Zhongjie Bai, Junbo Zhang, Ganglan Zhang, Jianfeng Gao, Hong Zhong, Yongsheng Liu
Summary: This study investigated the iron isotope compositions of Cenozoic basalts in Southeast China, finding significant variations related to different types of basalts and their respective sources.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2024)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
C. J. Ebinger, Miriam C. Reiss, Ian Bastow, Mary M. Karanja
Summary: The East African rift system is formed above mantle upwellings and the formation of rifts is related to lithospheric thinning and magmatic activity. The amount of splitting varies spatially and the fast axes are predominantly parallel to the orientation of the rifts. Thick lithospheric modules have less splitting and different orientations, which may indicate mantle plume flow. Splitting rotates and increases in strength as it enters the rift zones, suggesting that the anisotropy is mainly present at shallow depths.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2024)
Correction
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Ekaterina Rojas-Kolomiets, Owen Jensen, Michael Bizimis, Gene Yogodzinski, Lukas Ackerman
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2024)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Robert W. Nicklas, Igor S. Puchtel, Ethan F. Baxter
Summary: Oxygen fugacity is a fundamental parameter for understanding redox processes in igneous systems. This study compares the Fe-XANES oxybarometry method with the V-in-olivine method for evaluating fO(2) in MORB lavas. The results show that the V-in-olivine method is not applicable to samples with low MgO content, and that the majority of Archean komatiite sources have lower fO(2) than modern MORB.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2024)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Chunfei Chen, Stephen F. Foley, Sebastian Tappe, Huange Ren, Lanping Feng, Yongsheng Liu
Summary: The volatile components CO2 and H2O play a major role in mantle melting and heterogeneity. In this study, Ca isotopes were used to trace the lithological heterogeneity in alkaline magmatic rocks. The results revealed the presence of K-richterite and carbonate components as the source of alkaline magmas with low delta 44/40Ca values. These findings highlight the importance of Ca isotopes as a robust tracer of lithological variation caused by volatiles in the Earth's upper mantle.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2024)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Timothee Jautzy, Gilles Rixhon, Regis Braucher, Romain Delunel, Pierre G. Valla, Laurent Schmitt, Aster Team
Summary: Although the current approach to estimate catchment-wide denudation rates using only 10Be concentrations has made significant progress in geomorphology, this study argues for the inclusion of 26Al measurements and testing of steady-state assumptions in slow eroding, formerly glaciated landscapes. The study conducted measurements of both 10Be and 26Al in stream sediments from the Vosges Massif in France and found that elevation, slope, channel steepness, and precipitation were the primary factors controlling denudation rates. The study also revealed a significant relationship between the extent of past glaciation and the cosmogenic (un-)steadiness in the stream sediments.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2024)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Erik van der Wiel, Douwe J. J. van Hinsbergen, Cedric Thieulot, Wim Spakman
Summary: Numerical models of Earth's mantle dynamics can predict the vigour and mixing of mantle flow, and the average slab sinking rates are an unexplored parameter that can provide intrinsic information on these characteristics. Through numerical experiments, it has been found that slab sinking rates are strongly correlated with mantle convection and mixing, and may explain geochemical observations from hotspot volcanoes.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2024)
