Topic
Slab
About: Slab is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 31617 publications have been published within this topic receiving 318693 citations.
Papers published on a yearly basis
Papers
More filters
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors carried out two-dimensional (2D) numerical experiments with a mineralogical-thermomechanical viscoelastic-plastic model to elucidate the cause of one-sided subduction.
Abstract: Subduction of the lithosphere at convergent-plate boundaries takes place asymmetrically—the subducted slab sinks downward, while the overriding plate moves horizontally (one-sided subduction). In contrast, global mantle convection models generally predict downwelling of both plates at convergent margins (two-sided subduction). We carried out two-dimensional (2-D) numerical experiments with a mineralogical-thermomechanical viscoelastic-plastic model to elucidate the cause of one-sided subduction. Our experiments show that the stability, intensity, and mode of subduction depend mainly on slab strength and the amount of weak hydrated rocks present above the slab. Two-sided subduction occurs at low slab strength (sin[φ] 0.15). The weak interface is maintained by the release of fluids from the subducted oceanic crust as a consequence of metamorphism. The resulting weak interplate zone localizes deformation at the interface and decouples the strong plates, facilitating asymmetric plate movement. Our work suggests that high plate strength and the presence of water are major factors controlling the style of plate tectonics driven by self-sustaining one-sided subduction processes.
219 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the mineral proportions and density profiles in the subducting oceanic lithosphere, modelled by a combination of 80% harzburgite + 20% primitive MORB compositions are calculated as a function of depth under conditions isothermal with surrounding pyrolite mantle, and also for a temperature distribution in which the slab is substantially cooler than surrounding mantle to below 700 km.
218 citations
TL;DR: The electromagnetic field is quantized in dielectric media that show both loss and dispersion in the form of Langevin forces in the forms of noise current operators.
Abstract: The electromagnetic field is quantized for normal transmission of incident waves through a parallel-sided dielectric slab. The dielectric material is dispersive and it acts as a linear amplifier over limited ranges of the frequency and as a linear attenuator at the remaining frequencies. The field operators derived for the three spatial regions within and on either side of the slab are shown to satisfy the canonical commutation relations. The noise fluxes emitted by the slab are evaluated and shown to satisfy the general requirements for the minimum noise associated with linear amplifiers and attenuators. The behavior of the amplifier gain profile on the approach to the lasing threshold of the slab is determined, but the results are restricted to the below-threshold state of the system. The spectra of the electric-field fluctuations are evaluated for the three spatial regions and for amplifying and attenuating frequencies.
218 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a high-resolution Vp, Vp/Vs and Qp model of the southern Tyrrhenian subduction zone, obtained by the inversion of P- and S-wave arrival times and t ∗ values from intraslab seismicity, is presented.
218 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors proposed a conceptual model of a compositionally stratified thermo-chemical boundary layer (TCBL) within which lateral temperature variations (sustained by large-scale mid-mantle flow) cause variations of partial melt fraction.
216 citations