Abstract
Oceanic lithosphere is rapidly recycled into the mantle through subduction, an important part of the dynamic evolution of the Earth. Cratonic continental lithosphere, however, can exist for billions of years, moving coherently with the tectonic plates. At the Caribbean–South American Plate margin, a complex subduction system and continental transform fault is adjacent to the South American cratonic keel. Parallel to the transform fault plate boundary, an anomalous region of seismic anisotropy1—created when minerals become aligned during mantle flow—is observed2,3,4,5. This region of anisotropy has been attributed to stirring of the mantle by subducting slabs2,3. Here we use seismological measurements and global geodynamic models adapted to this unique region to investigate how mantle flow, induced by subduction beneath the Antilles volcanic arc, is influenced by the stiff, deep continental craton. We find that three components—a stiff cratonic keel, a weak asthenospheric layer beneath the oceans and an accurate representation of the subducted slabs globally—are required in the models to match the unusual observed seismic anisotropy in the southeast Caribbean region. We conclude that mantle flow near the plate boundary is deflected and enhanced by the keel of the South American craton, rather than by slab stirring.
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Acknowledgements
M.S.M. was financially supported in part by EAR-1054638 and T.W.B. was financially supported in part by EAR-0643365. We thank A. Ghosh for assistance with assembling some of the density models, IRIS for providing the broadband seismic data and geodynamics.org and code contributors for maintaining CitcomS.
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M.S.M. formulated the project. T.W.B. carried out numerical modelling. Both authors contributed equally to interpreting and analysing the data and to writing the paper.
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Miller, M., Becker, T. Mantle flow deflected by interactions between subducted slabs and cratonic keels. Nature Geosci 5, 726–730 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1553
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1553
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