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Subduction history of the Caribbean from upper-mantle seismic imaging and plate reconstruction

Author

Listed:
  • Benedikt Braszus

    (Geophysical Institute (GPI), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology)

  • Saskia Goes

    (Imperial College London)

  • Rob Allen

    (Imperial College London)

  • Andreas Rietbrock

    (Geophysical Institute (GPI), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology)

  • Jenny Collier

    (Imperial College London)

  • Nick Harmon

    (University of Southampton)

  • Tim Henstock

    (University of Southampton)

  • Stephen Hicks

    (Imperial College London)

  • Catherine A. Rychert

    (University of Southampton)

  • Ben Maunder

    (Imperial College London)

  • Jeroen Hunen

    (Durham University)

  • Lidong Bie

    (Geophysical Institute (GPI), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology)

  • Jon Blundy

    (University of Bristol)

  • George Cooper

    (University of Bristol)

  • Richard Davy

    (Imperial College London)

  • J. Michael Kendall

    (University of Oxford)

  • Colin Macpherson

    (Durham University)

  • Jamie Wilkinson

    (Imperial College London
    Natural History Museum)

  • Marjorie Wilson

    (University of Leeds)

Abstract

The margins of the Caribbean and associated hazards and resources have been shaped by a poorly understood history of subduction. Using new data, we improve teleseismic P-wave imaging of the eastern Caribbean upper mantle and compare identified subducted-plate fragments with trench locations predicted from plate reconstruction. This shows that material at 700–1200 km depth below South America derives from 90–115 Myr old westward subduction, initiated prior to Caribbean Large-Igneous-Province volcanism. At shallower depths, an accumulation of subducted material is attributed to Great Arc of the Caribbean subduction as it evolved over the past 70 Ma. We interpret gaps in these subducted-plate anomalies as: a plate window and tear along the subducted Proto-Caribbean ridge; tearing along subducted fracture zones, and subduction of a volatile-rich boundary between Proto-Caribbean and Atlantic domains. Phases of back-arc spreading and arc jumps correlate with changes in age, and hence buoyancy, of the subducting plate.

Suggested Citation

  • Benedikt Braszus & Saskia Goes & Rob Allen & Andreas Rietbrock & Jenny Collier & Nick Harmon & Tim Henstock & Stephen Hicks & Catherine A. Rychert & Ben Maunder & Jeroen Hunen & Lidong Bie & Jon Blund, 2021. "Subduction history of the Caribbean from upper-mantle seismic imaging and plate reconstruction," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-14, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:12:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-021-24413-0
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24413-0
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    Cited by:

    1. Guido M. Gianni & César R. Navarrete, 2022. "Catastrophic slab loss in southwestern Pangea preserved in the mantle and igneous record," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-15, December.

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