Plume-Induced Subduction Initiation: Revisiting Models and Observations

Baes, Marzieh; Stern, Robert J.; Whattam, Scott A.; Gerya, Taras; Sobolev, Stephan

doi:10.3389/feart.2021.766604

Cited by 19 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 105 publications

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“…Our results are consistent with the idea that for a cooling early Earth, the tectonic expressions of plume‐lithosphere interactions could change from lithospheric dripping to subduction (e.g., Baes et al., 2021, and references therein). Additionally, our work indicates that lithospheric break‐up is strongly promoted by lateral changes in lithospheric configuration.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Tectono‐Magmatic Evolution of Asymmetric Coronae on Venus: Topographic Classification and 3D Thermo‐Mechanical Modeling

Gülcher,

Yu,

Gerya

2023

JGR Planets

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Venus is the only other Earth‐sized planet in the Solar System but it does not exhibit evidence of plate tectonics that dominates geological processes on Earth. Surface deformation on Venus is mainly driven by mantle convection and plume‐lithosphere interactions, likely represented by the widespread development of the circular volcano‐tectonic features known as coronae. Here, we present a joint study of mission data analysis and 3D modeling of asymmetric coronae on Venus. We systematically analyze 155 of the largest coronae on Venus in terms of surface topography and morphology. We establish that 75% of those coronae are radially asymmetric, and further sub‐categorize them based on their adjacent topography. This analysis reveals that many asymmetric coronae are positioned at a topographic transition between a lowland and plateau (termed topographic margin). With state‐of‐the‐art 3D numerical models, we investigate the physical processes behind plume‐margin interactions on Venus. We find that several tectonic styles may be responsible for asymmetric coronae at topographic margins, including lowland‐sided subduction, plateau‐sided lithospheric dripping, and an embedded plume. The gradient in lithospheric strength across the topographic margin controls these tectonic styles, and larger gradients enhance lithospheric resurfacing and the lifetime of the coronae. We also find that the density increase associated with the basalt‐to‐eclogite phase change provides the extra negative gravitational force required for downgoing crust to be recycled into the mantle. The models presented in this study reproduce a wide set of asymmetrical corona features found on Venus and suggest that they are generally more long‐lived than symmetric coronae.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Tectono‐Magmatic Evolution of Asymmetric Coronae on Venus: Topographic Classification and 3D Thermo‐Mechanical Modeling

Gülcher,

Yu,

Gerya

2023

JGR Planets

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“…Basal structures with a volume and density as observed today could therefore additionally be explained by some of the dense material dripping down to the core-mantle boundary after solid-state convection has started. Drip-like events have been described, for example, by Gerya et al (2015), Foley (2018) and Baes et al (2021) and the idea that the chemical heterogeneities within Earth's mantle stem from recycled crust is favored by Mulyukova et al (2015), Niu (2018) or Trønnes et al (2019). In the case of initially shallow dense material, we observe that the onset of plate motion is again in the same range or can even be earlier than in the purely thermal model.…”

Section: Conditions For Archean or Proterozoic Plate Motionmentioning

confidence: 49%

“…Likewise, Baes et al. (2021) argue that plume‐induced tectonics is difficult for strong piles. We observe that the presence of piles leads to weaker convection in the whole mantle.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Evidence of crustal growth and many geodynamical studies suggest that an initial episodic behavior is likely (e.g., Bedard, 2018; Debaille et al., 2013; Kreielkamp et al., 2022). Short‐lived subduction episodes (e.g., Moore & Webb, 2013; O’Neill & Debaille, 2014; van Hunen & Moyen, 2012) or delamination in form of lithospheric drips as the dominant process, like for the regional plume‐induced subduction (plume‐lid tectonics) or global intrusive magmatism (plutonic squishy lid) are discussed (e.g., Gerya et al., 2015; Fischer & Gerya, 2016; Lourenço et al., 2020; Baes et al., 2021, and references therein). Further mechanisms that have been proposed are, for example, drip‐like events due to grain damage, leading to often but locally confined subduction (Foley, 2018), or impact‐induced subduction that only occurs temporary after Hadean or Eoarchean impacts (e.g., Borgeat & Tackley, 2022; O’Neill et al., 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Onset of Plate Motion in the Presence of Chemical Heterogeneities in the Mantle and the Effect of Mantle Temperature

Stein,

Hansen

2024

JGR Solid Earth

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Chemical heterogeneities of various origins have been observed in the Earth's mantle. Their assumed higher density acts on the style of mantle convection and therefore, as tectonic plates form the highly viscous upper boundary layer of mantle convection, the onset of surface motion is also affected by chemical heterogeneities. We perform 2D basally heated thermochemical mantle convection models which initially include layers of dense material at different mantle depths. In comparison to purely thermal convection models, the onset of first plate motion is delayed. This delay is even more pronounced, the deeper the location of dense material, the larger its volume and the higher its density. Additionally, we varied the starting temperature of our models. In an initially hot mantle, a strong temperature‐dependent viscosity contrast between the mantle and cold surface leads to a cold, highly viscous plate (stagnant lid). For an initially cold mantle, rising plumes first need to transport basal heat upwards to create a sufficient viscosity contrast. Consequently, the formation and subsequent breaking of the stagnant lid is delayed. Considering a hotter mantle after Earth's magma ocean phase, we find that plate motion can occur within approximately the first 0.5 Gyr of solid‐state convection if no chemical structures are present or for dense material situated at the surface. Deep chemical heterogeneities delay the onset by at least one order of magnitude. Furthermore, the early surface motion will have been more erratic than todays stable plate motion, probably with a few single subduction events.

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“…When these structures are close to the passive margin, the process of subduction initiation is quickly followed by the process of obduction, during which regional-scale fragments of oceanic lithosphere (ophiolites) are emplaced over the adjacent continental lithosphere (Van Hinsbergen, et al, 2015;Agard et al, 2016). An alternative mechanism that does not rely on predefined heterogeneities and weaknesses in the lithosphere is plume-induced subduction initiation (Figure 1D; see also review by Baes et al (2021) and references therein). In this scenario, a sufficiently large and hot plume head ruptures the overlying plate, leading to self-sustaining sinking of the adjacent portion of the lithosphere (Ueda et al, 2008;Gerya et al, 2015;Baes et al, 2016Baes et al, , 2020.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ocean-continent subduction cannot be initiated without preceding intra-oceanic subduction!

et al. 2022

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The formation of new subduction zones is a key element of plate tectonics and the Wilson cycle, and many different controlling mechanisms have been proposed to initiate subduction. Here, we provide a brief overview of the known scenarios of subduction initiation in intra-oceanic and ocean-continent tectonic settings. Intra-oceanic subduction is most commonly associated with mechanical heterogeneities within the oceanic lithosphere, such as pre-existing fracture zones, spreading ridges, and transform faults. Numerous and well-recognized examples of new active subduction zones formed in intra-oceanic environments during the Cenozoic, suggesting that the initiation of ocean-ocean subduction must be a routine process that occurs “easily and frequently” in the mode of plate tectonics currently operating on Earth. On the contrary, the most traditional mechanisms for the establishment of classic self-sustaining ocean-continent subduction—passive margin collapse and subduction transference—are surprisingly rare in observations and difficult to reproduce in numerical models. Two alternative scenarios—polarity reversal and lateral propagation-induced subduction initiation—are in contrast much better documented in nature and experimentally. However, switching of subduction polarity due to arc-continent collision and lateral transmission of subducting plate boundaries are both inextricably linked to pre-existing intra-oceanic convergence. We, therefore, conclude that the onset of classic ocean-continent subduction zones is possible only through the transition from a former intra-oceanic subduction system. This transition is likely facilitated by the ductile damage accumulation and stress concentration across the aging continental margin. From this perspective, the future closure of the Atlantic Ocean can be viewed as an archetypal example of the role of transitional process between intra-oceanic subduction (Lesser Antilles) and the development of a new subduction zone at a passive continental margin (eastern North America).

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Plume-Induced Subduction Initiation: Revisiting Models and Observations

Cited by 19 publications

References 105 publications

Tectono‐Magmatic Evolution of Asymmetric Coronae on Venus: Topographic Classification and 3D Thermo‐Mechanical Modeling

Tectono‐Magmatic Evolution of Asymmetric Coronae on Venus: Topographic Classification and 3D Thermo‐Mechanical Modeling

Onset of Plate Motion in the Presence of Chemical Heterogeneities in the Mantle and the Effect of Mantle Temperature

Ocean-continent subduction cannot be initiated without preceding intra-oceanic subduction!

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