No seamount subduction, no magmatic arc?

Abstract

Water is essential for the formation of a magmatic arc by lowering the melting temperature of materials in the mantle wedge. As such, it is logical to attribute the absence of a magmatic arc to insufficient water released from the subducting plate, although a number of other factors may cause volcanic arc quiescence as well, such as a slab window or flat slab subduction. In this contribution, we present a possible but testable correlation between the occurrence of a magmatic arc and seamount subduction in light of bathymetric data obtained near trenches. This correlation, if it holds true, in turn means that a magmatic arc is unlikely to occur when the subducting slabs have not been severely fractured and that one of the main reasons for excluding effects such as the slab window or flat slab subduction may be that the plate is not accompanied by seamounts. Therefore, the role that seamount subduction plays in recycling water back into the mantle deserves more attention from the earth sciences community.