Showing papers on "Slab published in 2007"

Evolution and diversity of subduction zones controlled by slab width

Abstract: Subducting slabs provide the main driving force for plate motion and flow in the Earth’s mantle1,2,3,4, and geodynamic, seismic and geochemical studies offer insight into slab dynamics and subduction-induced flow3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15. Most previous geodynamic studies treat subduction zones as either infinite in trench-parallel extent3,5,6 (that is, two-dimensional) or finite in width but fixed in space7,16. Subduction zones and their associated slabs are, however, limited in lateral extent (250–7,400 km) and their three-dimensional geometry evolves over time. Here we show that slab width controls two first-order features of plate tectonics—the curvature of subduction zones and their tendency to retreat backwards with time. Using three-dimensional numerical simulations of free subduction, we show that trench migration rate is inversely related to slab width and depends on proximity to a lateral slab edge. These results are consistent with retreat velocities observed globally, with maximum velocities (6–16 cm yr-1) only observed close to slab edges ( 2,000 km) retreat velocities are always slow (<2.0 cm yr-1). Models with narrow slabs (≤1,500 km) retreat fast and develop a curved geometry, concave towards the mantle wedge side. Models with slabs intermediate in width (∼2,000–3,000 km) are sublinear and retreat more slowly. Models with wide slabs (≥4,000 km) are nearly stationary in the centre and develop a convex geometry, whereas trench retreat increases towards concave-shaped edges. Additionally, we identify periods (5–10 Myr) of slow trench advance at the centre of wide slabs. Such wide-slab behaviour may explain mountain building in the central Andes, as being a consequence of its tectonic setting, far from slab edges.

Role of Phase Transitions in a Dynamic Mantle

Abstract: Summary The interaction of solid-solid phase transitions with convection in the Earth's mantle involves, for univariant systems: (1) effects of latent heat and advection of ambient temperature on the position of the phase boundary and on its associated body force, and (2) the coupling of latent heat with the ordinary thermal expansivity of the material. For divariant systems, an effective thermal expansion coefficient and a modified adiabatic temperature gradient may be defined for the phase transition zone. Linear stability theory for a fluid layer with a univariant phase change is reviewed and applied to the endothermic spinel-oxide transformation. The theory of the stability of a fluid layer with a divariant phase transformation is developed and critical Rayleigh numbers are given for a model of the olivine-spinel transition. Of special interest is the case where the Earth's temperature gradient exceeds the adiabatic temperature gradient outside the phase transition zone but is smaller than the increased adiabatic temperature gradient in the two-phase olivine-spinel region. The thermal structure of the descending lithosphere is calculated, including the effects of frictional heating on the slip zone and of the olivine-spinel and spinel-oxide transitions; temperature contrasts of 700 °K can exist between the slab and adjacent mantle at 800 km depth. The net body force on the descending slab due to thermal contraction and the major mineralogical phase changes is downward. The olivine-spinel transition may be responsible for the tensional focal mechanisms of intermediate depth earthquakes while the spinel-oxide transformation may be related to the compressional focal mechanisms of deep earthquakes.

Subduction of the Philippine Sea plate beneath southwestern Japan: Slab geometry and its relationship to arc magmatism

Abstract: [1] We carry out high-resolution three-dimensional seismic tomography of the crust and upper mantle beneath southwestern (SW) Japan using arrival-time data obtained from the nationwide seismograph network. The tomographic images provide new insights into the configuration of the Philippine Sea slab and arc magmatism. The results confirm the existence of an aseismic portion of the Philippine Sea slab at greater depths beyond the seismic portion. The Philippine Sea slab is subducting aseismically down to at least a depth of 200 km in Chubu, 60–80 km in Kinki, and 60 km in Chugoku and is subducting seismically to depths of 150–200 km in Kyushu. In the Chubu district, it is subducting seismically at a shallow dip and then bends downward beneath the volcanic area, whereas in the Kinki district, it is subducting subhorizontally as far as the Japan Sea. The differences in the slab geometry between adjacent regions correlate with the differences in volcanic activity, suggesting the importance of the geometry of the Philippine Sea slab on arc magmatism. Our tomographic images further imply subduction of the Philippine Sea slab down to a depth of around 70 km northwest of the Izu Peninsula. The Philippine Sea slab in that region might have split into western and eastern parts separated by a slab tear and collided with the Pacific slab at depths of 150–200 km.

Geometry and brittle deformation of the subducting Nazca Plate, Central Chile and Argentina

Abstract: SUMMARY We use data from the Chile Argentina Geophysical Experiment (CHARGE) broad-band seismic deployment to refine past observations of the geometry and deformation within the subducting slab in the South American subduction zone between 30 ◦ S and 36 ◦ S. This region contains a zone of flat slab subduction where the subducting Nazca Plate flattens at a depth of ∼100 km and extends ∼300 km eastward before continuing its descent into the mantle. We use a grid-search multiple-event earthquake relocation technique to relocate 1098 events within the subducting slab and generate contours of the Wadati-Benioff zone. These contours reflect slab geometries from previous studies of intermediate-depth seismicity in this region with some small but important deviations. Our hypocentres indicate that the shallowest portion of the flat slab is a

Continental magmatism, volatile recycling, and a heterogeneous mantle caused by lithospheric gravitational instabilities

Abstract: [1] Removal of the lower lithosphere (mantle lithosphere with or without portions of the crust) through ductile gravitational instabilities can produce magma under continents. Using numerical experiments approximating the rheology of continental crust and lithosphere and underlying asthenosphere and using phase equilibria from the literature, I investigate the topographic and magmatic results of lithospheric gravitational instabilities, along with the fate of the sinking material. Lithospheric removal, commonly referred to as delamination regardless of the mechanism, may allow asthenospheric material to rise and to melt adiabatically, and this asthenosphere can conductively heat portions of the lithosphere previously at lower temperatures. The size and rheology of the sinking material greatly influence the resulting surface topography as well as whether or not melting occurs. The sinking material may devolatilize as it reaches higher temperatures and pressures, just as a subducting slab does, triggering further melting. Gravitational instabilities are possible causes of nonmagmatic basins, continental magmatism of varying volume and composition in the absence of subduction, areas of high heat flow and uplift, and creation of an upper mantle heterogeneous in major and trace elements and volatiles. Magmatism can be simultaneous with topographic subsidence and possibly with subsequent uplift. In those cases that produce magma, melting can occur over a depth range from ∼30 to 200 km, though anomalously hot mantle is required to reach the volume of flood basalts.

Effect of solid flow above a subducting slab on water distribution and melting at convergent plate boundaries

Abstract: [1] Hydrous fluids derived by dehydration of the downgoing slab at convergent plate boundaries are thought to provoke wet melting in the wedge above the downgoing plate. We have investigated the distribution of hydrous fluid and subsequent melt in the wedge using two-dimensional models that include solid mantle flow and associated temperature distributions along with buoyant fluid migration and melting. Solid mantle flow deflects hydrous fluid from their buoyant vertical migration through the wedge. Melting therefore does not occur directly above the region where hydrous fluids are released from the slab. A melting front develops where hydrous fluids first encounter mantle material hot enough to melt. Wet melting is influenced by solid flow through the advection of fertile mantle material into the wet melting region and the removal of depleted material. The region of maximum melting occurs where the maximum flux of water from slab mineral dehydration reaches the wet melting region. The extent of melting (F) and melt production rates increase with increasing convergence rate and grain size due to increased temperatures along the melting front and to increased fractions of water reaching the melting front, respectively. The position of isotherms above the wet solidus varies with increasing slab dip and thereby also influences F and melt production rates. Applying the understanding of wet melting from this study to geochemical studies of the Aleutians may help elucidate the processes influencing fluid migration and melt production in that region. Estimates of the timescale of fluid migration, seismic velocity variation, and attenuation are also investigated.

Large-scale deformation in a locked collisional boundary : interplay between subsidence and uplift, intraplate stress, and inherited lithospheric structure in the late stage of the SE Carpathians evolution

Abstract: [1] The interplay between slab dynamics and intraplate stresses in postcollisional times creates large near-surface deformation, particularly in highly bent orogens with significant lateral variations in mechanical properties. This deformation is expressed through abnormal foredeep geometries and contrasting patterns of vertical movements. Intraplate folding is often the controlling mechanism, particularly when the orogenic belt is locked. The study of these tectonic processes in the SE Carpathians indicates a generalized subsidence period during latest Miocene–Pliocene times driven by the slab-pull and an intraplate folding due to an overall Quaternary inversion. The latter accommodates ∼5 km ESE-ward movement of this area with respect to the neighboring units, which creates complicated three-dimensional deformation patterns potentially driven at a larger scale by the interaction between the Adriatic indentor and the entire Carpathians system. The lithospheric anisotropy inherited from the subduction times concentrates strain and induces large-scale deformation far away from the active plate margins. This anisotropy is dynamic because of deep mantle processes related to the subducted slab during postcollisional times, such as thermal reequilibration or increase in slab dip.

Rheologic controls on slab dynamics

Abstract: Several models have been proposed to relate slab geometry to parameters such as plate velocity or plate age. However, studies on the observed relationships between slab geometry and a wide range of subduction parameters show that there is not a simple global relationship between slab geometry and any one of these other subduction parameters for all subduction zones. Numerical and laboratory models of subduction provide a method to explore the relative importance of different physical processes in determining subduction dynamics. Employing 2-D numerical models with a viscosity structure constrained by laboratory experiments for the deformation of olivine, we show that the observed range in slab dip and the observed trends between slab dip and convergence velocity, subducting plate age, and subduction duration can be reproduced without trench motion (i.e., slab roll-back) for locations away from slab edges. Successful models include a stiff slab that is 100–1000 times more viscous than previous estimates from models of plate bending, the geoid, and global plate motions. We find that slab dip in the upper mantle depends primarily on slab strength and plate boundary coupling, with a small dependence on subducting plate age. Once the slab sinks into the lower mantle the primary processes controlling slab evolution are (1) the ability of the stiff slab to transmit stresses up dip, (2) resistance to slab descent into the higher-viscosity lower mantle, and (3) subduction-induced flow in the mantle-wedge corner.

Self-collimating photonic crystal polarization beam splitter

Abstract: We present theoretical and experimental results of a polarization splitter device that consists of a photonic crystal (PhC) slab, which exhibits a large reflection coefficient for TE and a high transmission coefficient for TM polarization The slab is embedded in a PhC tile operating in the self-collimation mode Embedding the polarization-discriminating slab in a PhC with identical lattice symmetry suppresses the in-plane diffraction losses at the PhC-non-PhC interface The optimization of the PhC-non-PhC interface is thereby decoupled from the optimization of the polarizing function Transmissions as high as 35% for TM- and 30% for TE-polarized light are reported

Compact broad-band admittance tunnel incorporating gaussian beam antennas

Abstract: A plane wave antenna including: a horn antenna; a waveguide at least partially inside the horn antenna, wherein the waveguide includes: a central dielectric slab increasing in width toward the horn antenna and with a first dielectric constant, an upper slab above the central dielectric slab with a second dielectric constant, and a lower slab below the central dielectric slab with the second dielectric constant; wherein the central dielectric slab has a substantially constant thickness less than a quarter of a wavelength at a highest frequency of operation of the plane wave antenna.

Trench-parallel flow and seismic anisotropy in the Mariana and Andean subduction systems

Abstract: Shear-wave splitting measurements above the mantle wedge of the Mariana1 and southern Andean2,3 subduction zones show trench-parallel seismically fast directions close to the trench and abrupt rotations to trench-perpendicular anisotropy in the back arc. These patterns of seismic anisotropy may be caused by three-dimensional flow associated with along-strike variations in slab geometry1,2,3,4,5. The Mariana and Andean subduction systems are associated with the largest along-strike variations of slab geometry observed on Earth6,7 and are ideal for testing the link between slab geometry and solid-state creep processes in the mantle. Here we show, with fully three-dimensional non-newtonian subduction zone models, that the strong curvature of the Mariana slab and the transition to shallow slab dip in the Southern Andes give rise to strong trench-parallel stretching in the warm-arc and warm-back-arc mantle and to abrupt rotations in stretching directions that are accompanied by strong trench-parallel stretching. These models show that the patterns of shear-wave splitting observed in the Mariana and southern Andean systems may be caused by significant three-dimensional flow induced by along-strike variations in slab geometry.

Slab Retreat and Active Shortening along the Central-Northern Apennines

Abstract: The Quaternary geodynamic evolution and the tectonic processes active along the Central and Northern Apennines thrust fronts and in the adjacent Padane-Adriatic foredeep domains are analysed and discussed.

Inhomogenous dielectric metamaterials with space-variant polarizability.

Abstract: We experimentally demonstrate for the first time the focusing of optical beams within an inhomogeneous dielectric metamaterial with space-variant polarizability, implemented by etching subwavelength structures into a Silicon slab. Light focusing is obtained by creating an artificial slab material with graded refractive index profile. The local refractive index within the slab is modulated by controlling the duty cycle of the subwavelength structures. The demonstrated metamaterial based component can be integrated with various other building blocks towards the realization of devices and systems in free space optics on a chip configuration.

Magnetotunable left-handed material consisting of yttrium iron garnet slab and metallic wires

Abstract: A magnetotunable left-handed material (LHM) consisting of yttrium iron garnet (YIG) slab and metallic wires has been demonstrated by experiments and simulations. The left-handed passband through the LHM can be dynamically and continuously tuned in a wide frequency region by an applied magnetic field. The tunability of the passband is attributed to that of the negative permeability induced by ferromagnetic resonance in the YIG slab. The authors proposed a convenient means to design tunable LHM based on the ferromagnetic materials as an alternative to tunable split ring resonators.

Waveguiding inside the complete band gap of a phononic crystal slab

Abstract: The propagation of acoustic waves in a square-lattice phononic crystal slab consisting of a single layer of spherical steel beads in a solid epoxy matrix is studied experimentally. Waves are excited by an ultrasonic transducer and fully characterized on the slab surface by laser interferometry. A complete band gap is found to extend around 300 kHz, in good agreement with theoretical predictions. The transmission attenuation caused by absorption and band gap effects is obtained as a function of frequency and propagation distance. Well confined acoustic wave propagation inside a line-defect waveguide is further observed experimentally.

Trench-parallel anisotropy produced by foundering of arc lower crust.

Abstract: Many volcanic arcs display fast seismic shear-wave velocities parallel to the strike of the trench. This pattern of anisotropy is inconsistent with simple models of corner flow in the mantle wedge. Although several models, including slab rollback, oblique subduction, and deformation of water-rich olivine, have been proposed to explain trench-parallel anisotropy, none of these mechanisms are consistent with all observations. Instead, small-scale convection driven by the foundering of dense arc lower crust provides an explanation for the trench-parallel anisotropy, even in settings with orthogonal convergence and no slab rollback.

Subwavelength imaging by metallic slab lens with nanoslits

Abstract: A metallic slab lens featured with specially designed nano slits is presented to realize imaging for arbitrary object and image distances. Based on the particular propagation properties of surface plasmon polaritons in nanostructures, slits perforated in silver slab are designed with variant widths to produce desired optical phase retardations. Numerical simulation of an illustrative lens is performed through finite-difference time-domain method and shows that subwavelength imaging is realized at the designed position. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.