Craton deformation from flat-slab subduction and rollback
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1.
California Institute of Technology
Abstract
The mechanisms underlying the deformation and eventual destruction of Earth’s cratons remain enigmatic, despite proposed links to subduction and deep mantle plume processes. Here we study the deformation of the North China Craton using four-dimensional mantle flow models of the plate–mantle system since the late Mesozoic, integrating constraints from lithospheric deformation, mantle seismic tomography and the evolution of surface topography. We find that flat-slab subduction induced landward shortening and lithospheric thickening, while subsequent flat-slab rollback caused seaward extension and lithospheric thinning. Both subduction phases resulted in substantial topographic changes in basin sediments. Rapid flat-slab rollback, coupled with a viscosity jump and phase change across the 660 km mantle discontinuity, was a key ingredient in shaping a large mantle wedge. We argue that craton deformation through lithospheric extension and thinning was triggered by the subduction of a flat slab and its subsequent rollback. The integration of data into mechanical models provides insights into the four-dimensional dynamic interplay involving subduction, mantle processes, craton deformation and topography.
Copyright and License
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Contributions
S.L.: conceptualization, methodology, software, validation, formal analysis, investigation and writing of the paper. B.Z.: methodology, software, investigation, formal analysis and visualization. P.M.: methodology, software and formal analysis. S.W.: methodology and review of the paper. C.L.: methodology and investigation. N.W.: methodology, software and investigation. C.R.: investigation. M.G.: formal analysis and review of the paper.
Acknowledgement
S.L., B.Z., C.L., N.W. and C.R. were supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China grants 41820104004, 42042035 and 91114203; by the National Key R&D Plan 2017YFC0601405; the Strategic Priority Research Program (b) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences XDB18000000; by a Deep-Time Digital Earth Seed Grant (GJ-C03-2023-002); and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (grant number 2652023001). P.M. was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China grants 42002239 and 91114203. S.W. was supported by a Deep-Time Digital Earth Seed Grant (GJ-C03-2023-002), National Natural Science Foundation of China grant 41972237, and Australian Research Council grant FT210100557. M.G. was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China grants 41820104004 and 91114203. We thank Y. Zhu, X. Li, G. Liu and H. Xing for their research assistance.
Additional Information
Supplementary notes, Figs. 1–7, discussion for Supplementary Figs. 1, 2 and 4–6, and Table 1.
Flat-slab subduction and rollback from 180 to 86 Ma. This video illustrates the subduction process along profiles a, b, c and d from 180 to 86 Ma. The locations of the profiles are shown in Fig. 1a.
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Additional details
- ISSN
- 1752-0908
- Accepted
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2024-07-19Accepted
- Available
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2024-09-06Published online
- Caltech groups
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, Seismological Laboratory
- Publication Status
- Published