Articles | Volume 11, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-37-2020
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the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/se-11-37-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| Highlight paper
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08 Jan 2020
Research article | Highlight paper |
| 08 Jan 2020
| 08 Jan 2020
Can subduction initiation at a transform fault be spontaneous?
Geosciences Montpellier, Univ. Montpellier, CNRS, Univ. Antilles, Montpellier, France
Serge Lallemand
Geosciences Montpellier, Univ. Montpellier, CNRS, Univ. Antilles, Montpellier, France
Sarah Abecassis
Geosciences Montpellier, Univ. Montpellier, CNRS, Univ. Antilles, Montpellier, France
Fanny Garel
Geosciences Montpellier, Univ. Montpellier, CNRS, Univ. Antilles, Montpellier, France
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Short summary
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Earth’s solid shell is made of stiff tectonic plates which can break apart to form new weak plate boundaries. We use numerical models of plate extension to investigate how mechanical properties control the concentration of deformation leading to such a boundary as hot mantle rises underneath. We highlight feedbacks, and quantify how and why, under various deformation mechanisms, the plate weakens as temperature and strain rate increase. We compare the model predictions to natural rifting cases.
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EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-5615, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-5615, 2025
Short summary
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Earth’s solid shell is made of stiff tectonic plates which can break apart to form new weak plate boundaries. We use numerical models of plate extension to investigate how mechanical properties control the concentration of deformation leading to such a boundary as hot mantle rises underneath. We highlight feedbacks, and quantify how and why, under various deformation mechanisms, the plate weakens as temperature and strain rate increase. We compare the model predictions to natural rifting cases.
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Short summary
We propose a new exploration of the concept of
spontaneouslithospheric collapse at a transform fault (TF) by performing a large study of conditions allowing instability of the thicker plate using 2-D thermomechanical simulations. Spontaneous subduction is modelled only if extreme mechanical conditions are assumed. We conclude that spontaneous collapse of the thick older plate at a TF evolving into mature subduction is an unlikely process of subduction initiation at modern Earth conditions.
We propose a new exploration of the concept of
spontaneouslithospheric collapse at a transform...
