East Asian lithospheric evolution dictated by multistage Mesozoic flat-slab subduction

A Newly Discovered Late‐Cretaceous East Asian Flat Slab Explains Its Unique Lithospheric Structure and Tectonics

“…growing agreement is that flat slab subduction could efficiently deform and thin the overriding continental lithosphere (Axen et al, 2018;Bird, 1988;L. J. Liu et al, 2021).…”

“…Although uncertainties exist about past flat subduction, several lines of consensus emerge from previous studies. Besides the above‐mentioned upper‐plate behaviors, including orogenic uplift in the hinterland (e.g., Fan & Carrapa, 2014), migration or shutoff of magmatic arcs (e.g., Henderson et al., 1984; Liu, 2015), and contemporary inland subsidence (e.g., Dávila & Lithgow‐Bertelloni, 2015; Heller & Liu, 2016), another growing agreement is that flat slab subduction could efficiently deform and thin the overriding continental lithosphere (Axen et al., 2018; Bird, 1988; L. J. Liu et al., 2021). Indeed, all or some of these characteristics have been directing the search for past events of flat subduction, especially in regions with a complex tectonic history and imperfect mantle seismic images like East Asia (Li & Li, 2007; Wu et al., 2019).…”

“…We also evaluate different mechanisms for the formation of the flat Izanagi slab and find that the most important reason is the long-lasting Mesozoic subduction along the western Pacific margin. et al, 2018;Bird, 1988;L. J. Liu et al, 2021).…”

Styles of Trench‐Parallel Mid‐Ocean Ridge Subduction Affect Cenozoic Geological Evolution in Circum‐Pacific Continental Margins

“…In normal subduction circumstances, a steep slab subduction is a favorable situation for arc magma production (Peacock, 1990) and back‐arc extension (Sdrolias & Müller, 2006; Yang et al., 2018). Flat slab subduction is thought to greatly facilitate the transmission of compressive stress to the overriding plate (Lallemand et al., 2005; Liu et al., 2021; Peng et al., 2021), trench‐ward migration of the magmatic arc during the retreat of the flat slab (Wu, Yang, et al., 2019), and development of a prominent, syn‐flat slab magmatic lull (Henderson et al., 1984; Hu & Liu, 2016). Although previous studies have revealed the effect of slab dips on the tectono‐magmatic evolution in normal slab subduction, the effect may be opposite in the circumstances of mid‐ocean ridge subduction.…”

Origin, Accretion, and Reworking of Continents

“…This will be discussed later in Section 4.3.2. Recent studies on the Wyoming craton and NCC suggest that the destruction of these cratons may have been closely related to a rapid change of subduction regime from an early flat or shallow-angle subduction to a later steep subduction following fast trench retreat, accompanying intensive lithospheric deformation from compressional to dominantly extensional, infiltration of large volumes of fluids and voluminous magmatism on the overlying continental lithosphere (e.g., Liu, Peng, et al, 2021;F. Y. Wu et al, 2019;Yonkee & Weil, 2015).…”