Melting of a subducting slab and production of high‐mg andesite magmas: Unusual magmatism in SW Japan at 13∼15 Ma

Abstract

Characteristic high‐Mg andesite magmas were produced in the SW Japan arc at 13∼15 Ma that was synchronous with the commencement of subduction of a very young (<11 m.y.) lithosphere of the Shikoku Basin. Numerical simulation suggests that temperature at the surface of such a young subducting plate is high enough for partial melting both of the subducting sediments and oceanic crust at the beginning of the subduction. High‐Mg andesite magmas were likely to be produced by interaction between silicic slab melts and the overlying mantle wedge. HMA magmas may be commonly produced in the Archean subduction zones under relatively high mantle temperature conditions, contributing to making continental crusts.