Molybdenum isotopes unmask slab dehydration and melting beneath the Mariana arc

How serpentinites in the forearc mantle and subducted lithosphere become involved in enriching the subarc mantle source of arc magmas is controversial. Here we report molybdenum isotopes for primitive submarine lavas and serpentinites from active volcanoes and serpentinite mud volcanoes in the Mariana arc. These data, in combination with radiogenic isotopes and elemental ratios, allow development of a model whereby shallow, partially serpentinized and subducted forearc mantle transfers fluid and melt from the subducted slab into the subarc mantle. These entrained forearc mantle fragments are further metasomatized by slab fluids/melts derived from the dehydration of serpentinites in the subducted lithospheric slab. Multistage breakdown of serpentinites in the subduction channel ultimately releases fluids/melts that trigger Mariana volcanic front volcanism. Serpentinites dragged down from the forearc mantle are likely exhausted at >200 km depth, after which slab-derived serpentinites are responsible for generating slab melts.

Tracing the subducting Pacific slab to the mantle transition zone with hydrogen isotopes

Hydrogen isotopes have been widely used as powerful tracers to understand the origin of terrestrial water and the water circulation between the surface and the deep interior of the Earth. However, further quantitative understanding is hindered due to a lack of observations about the changes in D/H ratios of a slab during subduction. Here, we report hydrogen isotope data of olivine-hosted melt inclusions from active volcanoes with variable depths (90‒550 km) to the subducting Pacific slab. The results show that the D/H ratio of the slab fluid at the volcanic front is lower than that of the slab fluid just behind the volcanic front. This demonstrates that fluids with different D/H ratios were released from the crust and the underlying peridotite portions of the slab around the volcanic front. The results also show that the D/H ratios of slab fluids do not change significantly with slab depths from 300 to 550 km, which demonstrates that slab dehydration did not occur significantly beyond the arc. Our estimated δD‰ value for the slab materials that accumulated in the mantle transition zone is > − 90‰, a value which is significantly higher than previous estimates.

Variations in Wedge Earthquake Distribution along the Strike Underlain by Thermally Controlled Hydrated Megathrusts

Accretionary wedge earthquakes usually occur in the overriding crust close to the trench or above the cold nose of the mantle wedge. However, the mechanism and temperature properties related to the slab dip angle remain poorly understood. Based on 3D thermal models to estimate the subduction wedge plate temperature and structure, we investigate the distribution of wedge earthquakes in Alaska, which has a varying slab dip angle along the trench. The horizontal distance of wedge-earthquake hypocenters significantly increases from the Aleutian Islands to south–central Alaska due to a transition from steep subduction to flat subduction. Slab dehydration inside the subducted Pacific plate indicates a simultaneous change in the distances between the intraslab metamorphic fronts and the Alaskan Trench at various depths, which is associated with the flattening of the Pacific plate eastward along the strike. The across-arc width of the wedge-earthquake source zone is consistent with the across-arc width of the surface high topography above the fully dehydrated megathrust, and the fluid upwelling spontaneously influences wedge seismotectonics and orogenesis.

Modelling coupled fluid flow and solid deformation with the viscoplastic rheology

<p>The coupling between fluid flow and solid deformation plays important roles in earth dynamics at different timescales and length-scales. Related processes include, magma migration and focusing in the Mid-Ocean Ridges, fluid migration after slab dehydration in the subduction zone, channelized fluid flow observed as seismic chimney in the continental margin, as so on. Here we study how localized fluid channels can develop through asymmetric compaction and decompaction processes of the solid matrix by solving coupled two-phase equations with viscoplastic rheology. Previous studies produced fluid channels with decompaction weakening, while negative effective pressure (P<sub>t</sub>-P<sub>f</sub>) is inevitable due to the simplified rheology formulation. We develop a viscoplastic rheology formulation that considers the effects of shear stress and plastic failure on the volumetric deformation, consistent with experimental data.</p><p>Our model results show that this new rheology can produce channelized fluid flow without negative effective pressure in the model. Our numerical results also clarified that it is the flow instability of the coupled two-phase system that cause the formation of fluid channels. The ratio between shear viscosity and bulk viscosity determines how fast the flow instability develops and manifests. The geometry of the Reservoir, on the other hand, can affect where the channels form. We further study the effects of different background and reservoir porosity, different rock layer, permeability exponents, decompaction weakening factor, and so on. These results provide a better understanding of the two-phase system and its potential applications in geological environments.   </p><p> </p>