Editorial Material
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Jorg Hermann
Summary: Jorg Hermann suggests that serpentinization can serve as a natural analogue for a sequential economy due to its ability to generate clean energy, separate metals, and sequester carbon.
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Justin Krier, Michael S. Thorne, Kuangdai Leng, Tarje Nissen-Meyer
Summary: The study analyzed and modeled seismic data from the Samoa ultralow-velocity zone, finding the need for a large single ULVZ to explain the data and inferring the elastic parameters of the ULVZ. Velocity reductions are associated with the composition of the ULVZ, and geodynamic predictions for a mobile compositional ULVZ support the findings of the study.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Erin Heilman, Thorsten W. Becker
Summary: Mantle plumes can play a significant role in the evolution of Earth and plate tectonics, potentially causing the termination of subduction zones and contributing to the complexity of mantle structures. This effect may be particularly relevant for the early Earth and remain relevant in modern times.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Adam F. Holt
Summary: Subduction zones generate pressure fields that cause dynamic topography on Earth's surface. However, global mantle flow models often oversimplify subduction zones and associated pressure fields. This study reveals the existence of positive pressure and resultant uplift beneath subducting plates, which can be better predicted by incorporating subduction zones into mantle flow models.
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Yiran Wang, Jianghong Deng, Renqiang Liao, Long Chen, Dongyong Li, He Liu, Weidong Sun
Summary: The serpentinized mantle wedge undergoes magnesium isotopic fractionation during late-stage serpentinization, resulting in slightly heavier magnesium isotopic compositions. This is likely due to the removal of isotopically light magnesium by infiltrating slab fluids. Mantle wedge peridotites have magnesium isotopic compositions that are similar to subcontinental lithospheric mantle peridotites and lighter than oceanic mantle peridotites, suggesting mantle heterogeneity.
Review
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Jack F. Ward, Gideon Rosenbaum, Teresa Ubide, Jonny Wu, John T. Caulfield, Mike Sandiford, Derya Guerer
Summary: Studies have shown that intraplate volcanoes in East Asia are likely formed by decompression melting associated with convective upwellings at the edges of the Pacific and Philippine Sea slabs, rather than mantle plume activity or typical subduction zone slab metasomatism. The Quaternary rollback of the Philippine slab may also be responsible for volcanic activity at Jeju, located at the leading edge of the Philippine Sea slab.
EARTH-SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Sebastian Rost, Daniel A. Frost, Andy Nowacki, Laura Cobden
Summary: The seismic wavefield carries important information about the seismic source and Earth's structure, but current methods have limitations in resolving fine scale structure. In this study, we show that analyzing slowness vector deviations can help extend our knowledge to smaller scales. By analyzing seismic array data, we were able to detect strong focal and defocal effects of the teleseismic wavefield, providing more insight into the fine scale velocity structure of Earth's interior.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Alexei L. Perchuk, Vladimir S. Zakharov, Taras V. Gerya, William L. Griffin
Summary: This study investigates the effects of lithology-dependent eclogitization on subduction processes. It finds that under certain conditions, such as elevated mantle temperatures and delayed eclogitization of gabbroic crust compared to basaltic crust, flat subduction can occur. This has implications for the growth of continental lithosphere and the formation of long-lived mantle keels.
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Kun Wang, Dmitri A. Ionov
Summary: Subduction plays a major role in recycling water, volatiles, and incompatible elements into Earth's mantle, and the isotopic signatures of potassium (K) can be used as a new tracer in subduction events. A study on mantle harzburgite xenoliths from Avacha volcano in Kamchatka, Russia, shows that slab-derived fluids infiltrated the sub-arc mantle and can significantly fractionate K isotopes. This provides direct evidence for the impact of subduction dehydration and fluid percolation on K isotopes in the mantle lithosphere.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Jonathan C. Aitchison, Dominique Cluzel, Trevor R. Ireland, Renjie Zhou, Dongyang Lian, Daniel Patias, Zhen Yan, Jingsui Yang
Summary: This study demonstrates the association of zircons and rutiles recovered from ophiolitic rocks in New Caledonia with subducting sediments, indicating the transfer of solid-phase materials between plates. The presence of these minerals in forearc harzburgite suggests their incorporation into the mantle wedge host likely occurred at around 50-60 km depth within the subduction channel. The conveyance of high field strength elements within solid-state accessory mineral phases into suprasubduction mantle wedges represents a significant phenomenon at convergent margins globally.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Mathieu Rodriguez, Maelis Arnould, Nicolas Coltice, Mathieu Soret
Summary: The head of a mantle plume weakens oceanic lithosphere through buoyancy forces and excess temperature, leading to intra-oceanic subductions. During the Late Cretaceous, the Neotethys subduction records suggest that plume-triggered subduction retreated towards the continental margins of Arabia and India. The sequential segmentation and diachronous deactivation of this subduction drove plate reorganization events in the Indian Ocean from the Late Cretaceous to the Eocene.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
C. Weidle, L. Wiesenberg, A. Scharf, P. Agard, A. El-Sharkawy, F. Krueger, T. Meier
Summary: The geodynamic evolution of Eastern Arabia consists of three main events: Pan-African plate assembly, Infracambrian and Ordovician extension, and Permian Pangean breakup and rifting. The obduction of the Semail Ophiolite during the Late Cretaceous and the subsequent relaxation of the lithosphere are also significant. Seismological observations reveal the lithospheric thickness and crustal heterogeneity of Eastern Arabia, indicating the segmentation of the crust and the impact of various tectonic events. The configuration of the lithosphere in northeastern Arabia preserves imprints from multiple geological periods.
EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
E. Hosseinzadehsabeti, E. C. Ferre, T. B. Andersen, J. W. Geissman, D. Bilardello, G. Di Toro
Summary: This study focuses on pseudotachylytes formed in oceanic peridotites as a result of intraslab seismic rupture, utilizing AMS to reconstruct co-seismic deformation parameters. The findings reveal diverse seismic deformation recorded in these veins with unique insights into the dynamics of frictional melts at high spatial resolution.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH
(2021)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Sean Kelly, Christopher Beaumont
Summary: This article discusses the role of continental lithospheric mantle deformation and removal during continent-continent collision in the evolution of orogenic systems. Research on the Hindu Kush and Pamir mountains shows that differences in the indenting Indian plate lead to varying styles of mantle delamination and subduction, which have implications for magmatism, metamorphism, and crustal evolution. The subduction of Indian lithosphere beneath Asia in the Hindu Kush limits Himalayan growth and deformation of the Tajik Basin, while forced subduction of the Alai terrane in the Pamir forms the Pamir orocline.
JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-SOLID EARTH
(2021)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
L. Notini, M. Scambelluri, A. Tommasi, A. Zanetti, F. Ferri, A. Rodriguez-Vargas, E. Rampone
Summary: This study provides important petrologic information on the mantle wedge above an active subduction zone in Southern Colombia. The researchers analyzed a unique suite of rock samples and found evidence of hydration, metasomatism, and partial melting in the mantle wedge. They also observed variations in lithotypes, textures, and mineral abundance, indicating different interactions with melts and fluids. This study sheds light on the complex petrological processes occurring in the mantle wedge and contributes to our understanding of subduction zone dynamics.