Dynamics of the opposite‐verging subduction zones in the Taiwan region: Insights from numerical models

Abstract

AbstractThe Taiwan mountain belt between the Eurasian and the Philippine Sea plate is a rare example for an orogen bracketed by two opposite‐verging subduction zones. The influences of the double subduction zones on regional dynamics have long remained unknown. In this study lithospheric deformation and mantle circulation in the Taiwan region are calculated with double subduction‐collision models. The results show that the limitedly deformed subducted Eurasian plate separates the highly deforming orogen above from the highly deforming mantle below. The edge flow driven by the rollback of the Philippine Sea slab dominates in the asthenosphere primarily as a result of the longer slab if the gap between the two slabs beneath Taiwan is sufficiently wide. The induced toroidal current gives rise to a pattern of seismic anisotropy compatible with that measured with teleseismic phases and coincidentally accordant with the strike of the orogen. The additional presence of a frequently hypothesized lithospheric fragment or slab tear disrupts the toroidal circulation and mars the model predictions for seismic anisotropy. We found that the rollback of the Eurasian slab deflects the plate downward and neutralizes the uplift, posing difficulty to models with Eurasian slab extending too far north. These results bolster the view that the Taiwan mountain belt is a subduction‐dominated orogen and both subduction zones play a key role on regional dynamics. Conceptual models specifically developed for large‐scale continent‐continent collision zones that have been commonly applied to the Taiwan region are inadequate for this ocean‐continent, opposite‐verging subduction‐collision system.