IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/nature/v446y2007i7133d10.1038_nature05615.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Evolution and diversity of subduction zones controlled by slab width

Author

Listed:
  • W. P. Schellart

    (Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 0200, Australia)

  • J. Freeman

    (Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 0200, Australia)

  • D. R. Stegman

    (School of Mathematical Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria 3800, Australia)

  • L. Moresi

    (School of Mathematical Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria 3800, Australia)

  • D. May

    (School of Mathematical Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria 3800, Australia)

Abstract

Subducting slabs provide the main driving force for plate motion and flow in the Earth’s mantle1,2,3,4, and geodynamic, seismic and geochemical studies offer insight into slab dynamics and subduction-induced flow3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15. Most previous geodynamic studies treat subduction zones as either infinite in trench-parallel extent3,5,6 (that is, two-dimensional) or finite in width but fixed in space7,16. Subduction zones and their associated slabs are, however, limited in lateral extent (250–7,400 km) and their three-dimensional geometry evolves over time. Here we show that slab width controls two first-order features of plate tectonics—the curvature of subduction zones and their tendency to retreat backwards with time. Using three-dimensional numerical simulations of free subduction, we show that trench migration rate is inversely related to slab width and depends on proximity to a lateral slab edge. These results are consistent with retreat velocities observed globally, with maximum velocities (6–16 cm yr-1) only observed close to slab edges ( 2,000 km) retreat velocities are always slow (

Suggested Citation

  • W. P. Schellart & J. Freeman & D. R. Stegman & L. Moresi & D. May, 2007. "Evolution and diversity of subduction zones controlled by slab width," Nature, Nature, vol. 446(7133), pages 308-311, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:446:y:2007:i:7133:d:10.1038_nature05615
    DOI: 10.1038/nature05615
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature05615
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/nature05615?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yaguang Chen & Hanlin Chen & Mingqi Liu & Taras Gerya, 2023. "Vertical tearing of subducting plates controlled by geometry and rheology of oceanic plates," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.
    2. Karsten M. Haase & Marcel Regelous & Christoph Beier & Anthony A. P. Koppers, 2024. "Slab steepening and rapid mantle wedge replacement during back-arc rifting in the New Hebrides," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-11, December.
    3. Jiashun Hu & Lijun Liu & Michael Gurnis, 2021. "Southward expanding plate coupling due to variation in sediment subduction as a cause of Andean growth," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-9, December.
    4. Kuidi Zhang & Jie Liao & Taras Gerya, 2024. "Onset of double subduction controls plate motion reorganisation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-9, December.
    5. Puetz, Stephen J., 2022. "The infinitely fractal universe paradigm and consupponibility," Chaos, Solitons & Fractals, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:446:y:2007:i:7133:d:10.1038_nature05615. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.