Upper-mantle seismic discontinuities and the thermal structure of subduction zones

Nature ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 356 (6371) ◽  
pp. 678-683 ◽  
Author(s):  
John E. Vidale ◽  
Harley M. Benz
2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 1069-1093 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. E. van Keken ◽  
S. Kita ◽  
J. Nakajima

Abstract. The cause of intermediate-depth (> 40 km) seismicity in subduction zones is not well understood. The viability of proposed mechanisms, that include dehydration embrittlement, shear instabilities, and the presence of fluids in general, depends significantly on local conditions, including pressure, temperature and composition. The well-instrumented and well-studied subduction zone below Northern Japan (Tohoku and Hokkaido) provides an excellent testing ground to study the conditions under which intermediate-depth seismicity occurs. This study combines new high resolution finite elements models that predict the dynamics and thermal structure of the Japan subduction system with a high precision hypocenter data base. The upper plane of seismicity is principally contained in the crustal portion of the subducting slab and appears to thin and deepen within the crust at depths > 80 km. The disappearance of seismicity overlaps in most of the region with the predicted phase change of blueschist to hydrous eclogite, which forms a major dehydration front in the crust. The correlation between thermally predicted blueschist-out boundary and the disappearance of seismicity breaks down in the transition from the northern Japan to Kurile arc below western Hokkaido. Adjusted models, that take into account the seismically imaged modified upper mantle structure in this region, fail to adequately recover the correlation that is seen below Tohoku and eastern Hokkaido. We conclude that the thermal structure below Western Hokkaido is significantly affected by time-dependent, 3-D dynamics of the slab. This study generally supports the role of fluids in the generation of intermediate-depth seismicity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 105 (3) ◽  
pp. 307-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin M. Urann ◽  
Véronique Le Roux ◽  
Timm John ◽  
Grace M. Beaudoin ◽  
Jaime D. Barnes

Abstract We present in situ secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) and electron microprobe analyses of coexisting garnet, omphacite, phengite, amphibole, and apatite, combined with pyrohydrolysis bulk-rock analyses to constrain the distribution, abundance, and behavior of halogens (F and Cl) in six MORB-like eclogites from the Raspas Complex (Southern Ecuador). In all cases concerning lattice-hosted halogens, F compatibility decreases from apatite (1.47–3.25 wt%), to amphibole (563–4727 μg/g), phengite (610–1822 μg/g), omphacite (6.5–54.1 μg/g), and garnet (1.7–8.9 μg/g). The relative compatibility of Cl in the assemblage is greatest for apatite (192–515 μg/g), followed by amphibole (0.64–82.7 μg/g), phengite (1.2–2.1 μg/g), omphacite (<0.05–1.0 μg/g), and garnet (<0.05 μg/g). Congruence between SIMS-reconstructed F bulk abundances and yield-corrected bulk pyrohydrolysis analyses indicates that F is primarily hosted within the crystal lattice of eclogitic minerals. However, SIMS-reconstructed Cl abundances are a factor of five lower, on average, than pyrohydrolysis-derived bulk concentrations. This discrepancy results from the contribution of fluid inclusions, which may host at least 80% of the bulk rock Cl. The combination of SIMS and pyrohydrolysis is highly complementary. Whereas SIMS is well suited to determine bulk F abundances, pyrohydrolysis better quantifies bulk Cl concentrations, which include the contribution of fluid inclusion-hosted Cl. Raspas eclogites contain 145–258 μg/g F and at least 7–11 μg/g Cl. We estimate that ~95% of F is retained in the slab through eclogitization and returned to the upper mantle during subduction, whereas at least 95% of subducted Cl is removed from the rock by the time the slab equilibrates at eclogite facies conditions. Our calculations provide further evidence for the fractionation of F from Cl during high-pressure metamorphism in subduction zones. Although the HIMU (high U/Pb) mantle source (dehydrated oceanic crust) is often associated with enrichments in Cl/K and F/Nd, Raspas eclogites show relatively low halogen ratios identical within uncertainty to depleted MORB mantle (DMM). Thus, the observed halogen enrichments in HIMU ocean island basalts require either further fractionation during mantle processing or recycling of a halogen-enriched carrier lithology such as serpentinite into the mantle.


2001 ◽  
Vol 127 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 35-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan D. Collier ◽  
George R. Helffrich ◽  
Bernard J. Wood

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