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

Nature volume 450, pages 1222–1225 (2007)Cite this article

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.

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Figure 1: Observations and approximate slab model of the Mariana subduction system.
Figure 2: Finite strain calculations from the Mariana model.
Figure 3: Observations and approximate slab model of the Andean subduction system.
Figure 4: Finite strain calculations from the Andean model.

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Acknowledgements

We thank M. Anderson for providing slab contours of the southern Andean slab and insights on possible deformation processes in the Andean mantle wedge. We thank S. Pozgay and D. Wiens for discussions on the origin of trench-parallel anisotropy in the Mariana subduction system. We also thank G. Abers and E. Syracuse for discussions on three-dimensional slab geometry and kinematics. This research was supported by the National Science Foundation.

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  1. Department of Geological Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA,

    Erik A. Kneller & Peter E. van Keken

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  1. Erik A. Kneller
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Correspondence to Erik A. Kneller.

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Kneller, E., van Keken, P. Trench-parallel flow and seismic anisotropy in the Mariana and Andean subduction systems. Nature 450, 1222–1225 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature06429

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