Subduction Top to Bottom 2

Guest editors: Gray E. Bebout, David W. Scholl, Robert J. Stern, Laura M. Wallace, and Philippe Agard

From top-to-bottom, many geological, geophysical, petrologic/geochemical, and theoretical advancements have been made toward understanding subduction zone processes and dynamics. There could be huge value in increasing the number of novel collaborative combinations of the disparate techniques aimed at the same subduction-related processes. This themed issue, a follow-up to the Bebout et al.’s Subduction: Top to Bottom (American Geophysical Union, Geophysical Monograph v. 96), aims to provide assessments of recent advancements and the most promising future directions for subduction zone research, in part synthesizing our current understanding of subduction-related hazards (volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and tsunamis).

To read more about this project, go to Twenty Years of Subduction Zone Science: Subduction Top to Bottom 2 (ST2B-2): GSA Today, v. 28, no. 2, p. 4-8, https://doi.org/10.1130/GSATG354A.1. 

Contributions are listed under science categories for the themed issue.

Subduction zone science categories

What goes in (seafloor lithosphere and sediment, seamounts and aseismic ridges)

• Hydrothermal circulation and the thermal structure of shallow subduction zones
  Harris et al.
  2017, v. 13, p. 1425-1444, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01498.1
• Lithologic control of frictional strength variations in subduction zone sediment inputs
  Ikari et al.
  2017, v. 14, p. 604-625, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01546.1
• Sedimentary inputs to the Nankai subduction zone: The importance of dispersed ash
  Scudder et al.
  2018, v. 14, p. 1451-1467, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01558.1
• Clay-mineral assemblages across the Nankai-Shikoku subduction system, offshore Japan: A synthesis of results from the NanTroSEIZE project
  Underwood and Guo
  2018, v. 14, p. 2009-2043, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01626.1
• Diagenetic, metamorphic, and hydrogeologic consequences of hydrothermal circulation in subducting crust
  Spinelli et al.
  2018, v. 14, p. 2337–2354, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01653.1

Forces driving subduction—thermal and geodynamic modeling

• Advances in the thermal and petrologic modeling of subduction zones
  Peacock
  2020, v. 16, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02213.1
• Deep decoupling in subduction zones: Observations and temperature limits
  Abers et al.
  2020, v. 16, p. 1408-1424, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02278.1
• Numerical modeling of subduction: State of the art and future directions
  Gerya
  2022, v. 18, p. 501-561, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02416.1

Getting started (subduction initiation)

• Eocene initiation of the Cascadia subduction zone: A second example of plume-induced subduction initiation?
  Stern and Dumitru
  2019, v. 15, p. 659-681, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02050.1
• Geodynamic implications of crustal lithologies from the southeast Mariana forearc
  Reagan et al.
  2018, v. 14, p. 1-22, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01536.1
• Identification, classification, and interpretation of boninites from Anthropocene to Eoarchean using Si-Mg-Ti systematics
  Pearce and Reagan
  2019, v. 15, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01661.1

Outer rise (slab bending, deep hydration of slabs)

• Depth-varying structural characters in the rupture zone of the 2011 Tohoku-oki earthquake
  Kodaira et al.
  2017, v. 13, p. 1408-1424, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01489.1
• Structure of oceanic crust and serpentinization at subduction trenches
  Grevemeyer et al.
  2018, v. 14, p. 395-418, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01537.1
• Insights from the geological record of deformation along the subduction interface at depths of seismogenesis
  Fisher et al.
  2021, v. 17, p. 1686-1703, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02389.1
• Impact of bending-related faulting and oceanic-plate topography on slab hydration and intermediate-depth seismicity
  Geersen et al.
  2022, v. 18, p. 562-584, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02367.1

Shallow forearc dynamics (initial dewatering and diagenesis, fluids, accretion, erosion)

• The role of protothrusts in frontal accretion and accommodation of plate convergence, Hikurangi subduction margin, New Zealand
  Barnes et al.
  2018, v. 14, p. 440-468, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01552.1
• Pleistocene vertical motions of the Costa Rican outer forearc from subducting topography and a migrating fracture zone triple junction
  Edwards et al.
  2018, v. 14, p. 510-534, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01577.1
• The Shumagin seismic gap structure and associated tsunami hazards, Alaska convergent margin
  von Huene et al.
  2019, v. 15, p. 324–341, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01657.1
• Subduction of trench-fill sediments beneath an accretionary wedge: Insights from sandbox analogue experiments
  Noda et al.
  2020, v. 16, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02212.1
• Along-strike variations in protothrust zone characteristics at the Nankai Trough subduction margin
  Tilley et al.
  2021, v. 17, p. 389–408, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02305.1

Deformation processes and physical conditions on the subduction interface (from the seismogenic zone to the source of episodic slow slip and tremor)

• Strain partitioning and interplate coupling along the northern margin of the Philippine Sea plate, estimated from Global Navigation Satellite System and Global Positioning System-Acoustic data
  Nishimura et al.
  2018, v. 14, p. 535-551, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01529.1
• Fluid properties and dynamics along the seismogenic plate interface
  Raimbourg et al.
  2018, v. 14, p. 469–491, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01504.1
• Learning from crustal deformation associated with the M9 2011 Tohoku-oki earthquake
  Wang et al.
  2018, v. 14, p. 552-571, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01531.1
• Laboratory measurements quantifying elastic properties of accretionary wedge sediments: Implications for slip to the trench during the 2011 M_w 9.0 Tohoku-Oki earthquake
  Jeppson et al.
  2018, v. 14, p. 1411-1424, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01630.1
• Subduction zone megathrust earthquakes
  Bilek and Lay
  2018, v. 14, p. 1468-1500, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01608.1
• Scaly fabric and slip within fault zones
  Vannucchi
  2019, v. 15, p. 342–356, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01651.1
• Length scales and types of heterogeneities along the deep subduction interface: Insights from exhumed rocks on Syros Island, Greece
  Kotowski and Behr
  2019, v. 15, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02037.1
• Geologic controls on up-dip and along-strike propagation of slip during subduction zone earthquakes from a high-resolution seismic reflection survey across the northern limit of slip during the 2010 Mw 8.8 Maule earthquake, offshore Chile
  Tréhu et al.
  2019, v. 15, p. 1751–1773, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02099.1
• Post-seismic response of the outer accretionary prism after the 2010 Maule earthquake, Chile
  Tréhu et al.
  2020, v. 16, p. 13–32, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02102.1
• Numerical modeling of tectonic underplating in accretionary wedge systems
  Ruh et al.
  2020, v. 16, p. 1385-1407, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02273.1
• The rise and demise of deep accretionary wedges: A long-term field and numerical modeling perspective
  Angiboust et al.
  2021, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02392.1
• Slow slip in subduction zones: Reconciling deformation fabrics with instrumental observations and laboratory results
  Oncken et al.
  2021, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02382.1

Upper plate faulting and vertical deformation processes over varying time scales

• Relating the long-term and short-term vertical deformation across a transect of the forearc in the central Mexican subduction zone
  Ramírez-Herrera et al.
  2018, v. 14, p. 419-439, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01446.1 
• Quaternary coral reef complexes as powerful markers of long-term subsidence related to deep processes at subduction zones: Insights from Les Saintes (Guadeloupe, French West Indies)
  Leclerc and Feuillet
  2019, v. 15, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02069.1
• Systematic characterization of morphotectonic variability along the Cascadia convergent margin: Implications for shallow megathrust behavior and tsunami hazards
  Watt and Brothers
  2021, v. 17, p. 95–117, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02178.1
• Subducting oceanic basement roughness impacts on upper-plate tectonic structure and a backstop splay fault zone activated in the southern Kodiak aftershock region of the Mw 9.2, 1964 megathrust rupture, Alaska
  Krabbenhoeft et al.
  2021, v. 17, p. 409–437, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02275.1

Into the pressure cooker (metamorphism, fluid-rock interactions, records of deep underplating and exhumation, nature of the deep subduction interface)

• The role of the upper plate in controlling fluid-mobile element (Cl, Li, B) cycling through subduction zones: Hikurangi forearc, New Zealand
  Barnes et al.
  2019, v. 15, p. 642-658, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02057.1
• Rb-Sr and in situ ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating of exhumation-related shearing and fluid-induced recrystallization in the Sesia zone (Western Alps, Italy)
  Halama et al.
  2018, v. 14, p. 1425-1450, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01521.1
• Deformation-enhanced fluid and mass transfer along Western and Central Alps paleo-subduction interfaces: Significance for carbon cycling models
  Jaeckel et al.
  2018, v. 14, p. 2355–2375, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01587.1
• Lawsonite composition and zoning as an archive of metamorphic processes in subduction zones
  Fornash et al.
  2019, v. 15, p. 24-46, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01455.1
• Structure and metamorphism of a subducted seamount (Zagros suture, Southern Iran)
  Bonnet et al.
  2020, v. 16, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02134.1
• Deformation along the roof of a fossil subduction interface in the transition zone below seismogenic coupling: The Austroalpine case and new insights from the Malenco Massif (Central Alps)
  Ioannidi et al.
  2020, v. 16, p. 510–532, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02149.1
• Multiple veining in a paleo–accretionary wedge: The metamorphic rock record of prograde dehydration and transient high pore-fluid pressures along the subduction interface (Western Series, central Chile)
  Muñoz-Montecinos et al.
  2020, v. 16, p. 765–786, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02227.1
• Extreme metamorphism and metamorphic facies series at convergent plate boundaries: Implications for supercontinent dynamics
  Zheng and Chen
  2021, v. 17, p. 1647-1685, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02334.1
• Lithium in garnet as a tracer of subduction zone metamorphic reactions: The record in ultrahigh-pressure metapelites at Lago di Cignana, Italy
  Bebout et al.
  2022, v. 18, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02473.1

Forearc to subarc mantle wedge and sub-slab mantle

• Evaluating geodynamic models for sub-slab anisotropy: Effects of olivine fabric type
  Lynner et al.
  2017, v. 13, p. 247-259, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01395.1
• Causes and consequences of flat-slab subduction in southern Peru
  Bishop et al.
  2017, v. 13, p. 1392-1407, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01440.1
• From oceanic to continental subduction: Implications for the geochemical and redox evolution of the supra-subduction mantle
  Cannaò and Malaspina
  2018, v. 14, p. 2311–2336, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01597.1
• Effects of fluid influx, fluid viscosity, and fluid density on fluid migration in the mantle wedge and their implications for hydrous melting
  Cerpa et al.
  2019, v. 15, p. 1-23, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01660.1

Subduction zone magmatism (models for evolution, petrology, geochemistry, and isotopes; evolution of batholiths)

• Modeling chemical geodynamics of subduction zones using the Arc Basalt Simulator version 5
  Kimura
  2017, v. 13, p. 992-1025, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01468.1
• Geochemistry and geochronology of Grenada and Union islands, Lesser Antilles: The case for mixing between two magma series generated from distinct sources
  White et al.
  2017, v. 13, p. 1359-1391, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01414.1
• Pb and Hf isotope evidence for mantle enrichment processes and melt interactions in the lower crust and lithospheric mantle in Miocene orogenic volcanic rocks from Monte Arcuentu (Sardinia, Italy)
  Kempton et al.
  2018, v. 14, p. 926-950, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01584.1
• Geochemical and geochronological records of tectonic changes along a flat-slab arc-transform junction: Circa 30 Ma to ca. 19 Ma Sonya Creek volcanic field, Wrangell Arc, Alaska
  Berkelhammer et al.
  2019, v. 15, p. 1508-1538, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02114.1
• Geochronology of the Wrangell Arc: Spatial-temporal evolution of slab-edge magmatism along a flat-slab, subduction-transform transition, Alaska-Yukon
  Trop et al.
  2022, v. 18, p. 19-48, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02417.1

Explosive volcanic hazards

• Evaluating relative tephra fall hazard and risk in the Asia-Pacific region
  Jenkins et al.
  2018, v. 14, p. 492–509, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01549.1
• Anticipating future Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) 7 eruptions and their chilling impacts
  Newhall et al.
  2018, v. 14, p. 572–603, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01513.1

Geochemical and seismological expressions of deep subducted slabs

• Constraints on fluids in subduction zones from electromagnetic data
  Pommier and Evans
  2017, v. 13, 1026-1041, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01473.1
• Subduction-transition zone interaction: A review
  Goes et al.
  2017, v. 13, p. 644-664, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01476.1
• The deforming Nazca slab in the mantle transition zone and lower mantle: Constraints from teleseismic tomography on the deeply subducted slab between 6°S and 32°S
  Scire et al.
  2017, v. 13, p. 665-680, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01436.1
• Lu-Hf and Sm-Nd geochronological constraints on the influence of subduction metamorphism in controlling the Hf-Nd terrestrial array: Evidence from the world’s orogenic belts
  Zirakparvar
  2019, v. 15, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02051.1
• Secular variations of magma source compositions in the North Patagonian batholith from the Jurassic to Tertiary: Was mélange melting involved?
  Castro et al.
  2021, v. 17, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02338.1
• Is the local seismicity in western Hispaniola (Haiti) capable of imaging northern Caribbean subduction?
  Corbeau et al.
  2019, v. 15, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02083.1

Backarc basins, cross chains, and fold-and-thrust belts

• Intra-oceanic submarine arc evolution recorded in an ~1-km-thick rear-arc succession of distal volcaniclastic lobe deposits
  Johnson et al.
  2021, v. 17, p. 957–980, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02321.1
• Diffuse spreading, a newly recognized mode of crustal accretion in the southern Mariana Trough backarc basin
  Sleeper et al.
  2021, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02360.1
• Cooling of the continental plate during flat-slab subduction
  Liu et al.
  2022, v. 18, p. 49–68, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02402.1
• Numerical models of Farallon plate subduction: Creating and removing a flat slab
  Currie and Copeland
  2022, v. 18, p. 476-502, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02393.1

Resource implications

• Porphyry copper deposit formation in arcs: What are the odds?
  Richards
  2021, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02086.1
• Subduction zones and their hydrocarbon systems
  Hessler and Sharman
  2018, v. 14, p. 2044–2067, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01656.1

Crust formation at convergent margins (ocean-ocean and ocean-continent)

• The robustness of Sr/Y and La/Yb as proxies for crust thickness in modern arcs
  Lieu and Stern
  2019, v. 15, p. 621-641, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01667.1
• There were no large volumes of felsic continental crust in the early Earth
  Rollinson
  2017, v. 13, p. 235-246, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01395.1
• Zircon age peaks: Production or preservation of continental crust?
  Condie et al.
  2017, v. 13, p. 227-234, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01361.1

Convergent margin education and outreach

• A new animation of subduction zone processes developed for the undergraduate and community college audience
  Stern et al.
  2017, v. 13, p. 628-643, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES01360.1
• Effects of Cenozoic subduction along the outboard margin of the Northern Cordillera: Derived from e-book on the Northern Cordillera (Alaska and Western Canada) and adjacent marine areas
  Nokleberg et al.
  2020, v. 16, p. 33–61, https://doi.org/10.1130/GES02045.1