What can trigger destabilizing of Atlantic passive margins?
Final Report Abstract
Since formation of the first subduction zone on the Earth, which would have probably been the start of plate tectonics, Earth’s outer layer (lithosphere) has been regularly recycled into the mantle. The evidence of continuous subduction of oceanic lithosphere into the mantle comes from many geological and geophysical records. Understanding how new subduction zones form is essential for completing plate tectonic theory. However, despite the vital role that subduction zones play in plate tectonics, our knowledge about how subduction zones form is limited. This is mainly due to: (a) the scarcity of present-day locations of subduction initiation and (b) overprinting of the geological/geophysical evidence of early periods of subduction initiation by later subduction related processes such as volcanism and erosion/sedimentation and collision. Some localities such as intra-oceanic transform faults/fracture zones, extinct mid-oceanic ridges and passive margins have been proposed as the location of trench formation. Geological observations confirmed the validity of subduction initiation along some of the proposed locations. However, lack of Cenozoic examples makes the subduction initiation along passive margins as a debatable subject. The widely acceptance of passive margins as the favourable site for trench formation comes from the key role that they play in Wilson Cycle, which explains the repeated opening and closing of ocean basins in geological time. The conversion of a passive margin into an active one is vital in the closing phase of the Wilson cycle. Most of previous modelling studies were not successful to simulate conversion of an old passive margin into a subduction zone with realistic parameters. Here we aimed to answer to the following question: Whether an old oceanic lithosphere along a passive margin can subduct spontaneously? To address this issue, we used 3d numerical models.
Publications
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Can plume-lithosphere interaction initiate a modern subduction zone?, EGU Blogs
Baes, M.
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Dataset for numerical modeling to investigate conditions leading to single- and multi-slab plume-induced subduction initiation
Baes, M., Sobolev, S., Gerya, T. & Brune, S.
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Dataset for numerical modeling to investigate plume-plateau subduction initiation
Baes, M., Sobolev, S., Gerya, T. & Brune, S.
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Interaction of a mantle plume and a moving plate: insights from numerical modeling, EGU 2020, Online
Brune, S., Baes, M., Gerya, T. & Sobolev, S.
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Plume-induced subduction initiation: single- or multislab subduction?, EGU 2020, Online
Baes, M., Sobolev, S., Gerya, T. & Brune, S.
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Plume‐Induced Subduction Initiation: Single‐Slab or Multi‐Slab Subduction?. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 21(2).
Baes, Marzieh; Sobolev, Stephan; Gerya, Taras & Brune, Sascha
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Subduction Initiation by Plume‐Plateau Interaction: Insights From Numerical Models. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 21(8).
Baes, Marzieh; Sobolev, Stephan V.; Gerya, Taras & Brune, Sascha
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Effect of plate motion on plume-induced subduction initiation,VEGU 2021, Online, 2021
Baes, M., Sobolev, S., Gerya, T., Stern, R. & Brune, S.
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Plate motion and plume-induced subduction initiation. Gondwana Research, 98, 277-288.
Baes, Marzieh; Sobolev, Stephan; Gerya, Taras; Stern, Robert & Brune, Sascha
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Plume-Induced Subduction Initiation: Revisiting Models and Observations. Frontiers in Earth Science, 9.
Baes, Marzieh; Stern, Robert J.; Whattam, Scott; Gerya, Taras V. & Sobolev, Stephan V.
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3D numerical modeling of suction-induced subduction initiation at passive margins, EGU2022, Vienna, Austria, 2022
Baes, M., Sobolev, S., Hampel, A. & Glerum, A.
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Subduction initiation at passive margins: Insights from 3D numerical modeling, Ada Lovelace Workshop on Numerical Modelling of Mantle and Lithosphere Dynamics, Héviz, Hungary, 2022
Baes, M., Sobolev, S., Hampel, A. & Glerum, A.
