Intra-Oceanic Subduction Termination and Reinitiation of the Eastern Neo-Tethys in Myanmar

Abstract

Subduction initiation and termination represent the birth and death of a subduction zone and are inevitable elements of terrestrial plate tectonics. Increasing evidence demonstrates that subduction zone processes did not operate continuously and might involve multiple initiation and termination stages (Stern, 2004), characterized by sustained subduction-zone death and rebirth. Many geological and numerical studies focus on subduction initiation processes/mechanisms (see reviews in Yang, 2022); however, subduction termination is often studied numerically at continental margins (Gerya, 2022). How subduction termination proceeds in intra-oceanic settings remains enigmatic due to lacking geological records.