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Pre-collisional extension of microcontinental terranes by a subduction pulley

Nature Geoscience volume 14, pages 443–450 (2021)Cite this article

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Abstract

Terrane accretion is a ubiquitous process of plate tectonics that delivers fragments of subduction-resistant lithosphere into a subduction zone, resulting in events such as ocean plateau docking or continental assembly and orogenesis. The post-collisional extension of continental terranes is a well-documented tectonic process linked with gravitational collapse and/or trench retreat. Here we propose that microcontinental terranes can also undergo a substantial extension before their collision with the upper plate, owing to pull from the trenchward part of the subducting plate. Forward geodynamic numerical experiments demonstrate that this pre-collisional extension can occur over a protracted phase on microcontinents that are drifting towards a subduction zone, which distinguishes the deformation from post-collisional extension on the overriding plate, as is traditionally postulated. The results show that the magnitude of pre-collisional extension is inversely correlated with the size of the microcontinental terrane and imposed convergence velocity. We find that locations along the Tethyan belts, namely, the Sesia zone and Eastern Anatolia, are evidence for this style of pre-collisional extension, as this mechanism reconciles with geothermobarometric data and kinematic analyses. The operation of this subduction pulley reveals that drifting lithospheric plates may undergo substantial tectonic events before the arrival and involvement with regular plate boundary processes.

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Fig. 1: Map showing main orogenic belts in the Alpine–Mediterranean region.
Fig. 2: Model results showing the effect of microcontinent width with 0 cm yr–1 imposed convergence rate.
Fig. 3: Plots showing the magnitudes of pre-collisional extension depending on tested parameters.
Fig. 4: The mechanical analogue demonstrates the fundamental dynamics of the tectonic system.
Fig. 5: The geological evidence for pre-collisional continental terrane extension.

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Data availability

The data—the outputs of the numerical experiments—that support the findings of this study are available at https://doi.org/10.5683/SP2/9RDQYB.

Code availability

The SOPALE modelling code was developed by the Dalhousie University Geodynamics group; this is not a freely available open-source code. Documentation for the code and the address of the developer research group may be found at http://geodynamics.oceanography.dal.ca/sopaledoc.html.

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Acknowledgements

This research was enabled in part by support provided by SciNet and Compute Canada (www.computecanada.ca). A modified version of the SOPALE (2000) software was used to run numerical models. The SOPALE modelling code was originally developed by P. Fullsack at Dalhousie University with C. Beaumont and his Geodynamics group. We used Ö. F. Bodur’s script to plot the P–T–t paths. Funding for this research was provided by an NSERC Discovery Grant (RGPIN-2019-06803)-RNP and TÜBİTAK grant (114Y226) to G.T.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

    Erkan Gün & Russell N. Pysklywec

  2. Eurasia Institute of Earth Sciences, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Oğuz H. Göğüş & Gültekin Topuz

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  1. Erkan Gün
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Contributions

E.G. designed and carried out the numerical experiments and interpreted the results with R.N.P. O.H.G. and G.T. helped with the geological background of the Alpine–Mediterranean region. E.G. and R.N.P. developed ‘the subduction pulley’ hypothesis and wrote the manuscript with inputs and comments from all the authors.

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Correspondence to Erkan Gün.

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Peer review information Nature Geoscience thanks Wim Spakman and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work. Primary Handling Editor: Stefan Lachowycz.

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Extended data

Extended Data Fig. 1 Initial conditions of model EXP-2.

The figure shows dimensions, geometry, materials, geotherm, Eulerian and Lagrangian grid dimensions, and convergence velocity direction. The upper left side of the model box is fixed. The imposed velocity, if present, is applied at the location of the blue arrow by introducing new oceanic lithosphere into the box. Orange arrows show evenly distributed outward flux to compensate inward flux. The red line on the right shows the change of geotherm with depth. The inset table lists experiment numbers according to microcontinent widths and convergence rates.

Extended Data Table 1 The rheological parameters used in experiments EXP-1 to EXP-8
Full size table

Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

Supplementary Figs. 1–3, Table and Discussion.

Supplementary Video

Supplementary Video illustrates how the subduction pulley operates and yields pre-collisional microcontinent extension using the plots of the EXP-5. The video pauses briefly before the collision to highlight the pre-collisional microcontinent extension.

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Gün, E., Pysklywec, R.N., Göğüş, O.H. et al. Pre-collisional extension of microcontinental terranes by a subduction pulley. Nat. Geosci. 14, 443–450 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-021-00746-9

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