Tectonic block rotation, arc curvature, and back-arc rifting: Insights into these processes in the Mediterranean and the western Pacific

Abstract

The fastest modern-day tectonic block rotations on Earth (up to 9 degrees/Myr) occur in the forearcs of convergent plate margins where a transition from collision of a bathymetric high to subduction of normal oceanic crust occurs. GPS techniques have enabled accurate documentation of the kinematics of these rotations, leading us to develop a conceptual model where the change from collision to subduction exerts a torque on microplates within the plate boundary zone, causing them to spin rapidly about an axis at the collision point. We have investigated geophysical and geological data from several active plate boundaries (from the western Pacific and Mediterranean regions) to document a compelling spatial and temporal relationship between the transition from collision to subduction, plate boundary curvature, and rapid tectonic block rotations. In some cases, these microplate rotations can initiate back-arc rifting. We also present numerical modelling results supporting our conceptual model for block rotations at collision/subduction transition. Our results suggest that the rate of microplate rotation depends on the incoming indentor velocity, and can be greatly enhanced by: (1) extensional stresses acting at the subduction interface (possibly due to slab roll back), and (2) a low-viscosity back-arc. Where viscosity of the back-arc is low, forearc microplate rotation dominates. In contrast, tectonic escape of strike-slip fault-bounded microplates is predicted in areas where the back-arc viscosity is high. Previous workers have suggested that the kinematics of the Anatolian block and back-arc rifting in the Aegean are influenced by some combination of forces associated with Arabia/Eurasia collision, and/or subduction (including slab rollback) at the Hellenic trench. Based on previous work from active western Pacific arcs, we propose that the collision of two separate indentors (Arabian promontory in the east, Apulian platform in the west), is a fundamental tectonic mechanism for large-scale anticlockwise tectonic rotation of Anatolia and the opposing clockwise rotation of western Greece documented from paleomagnetic studies. The recognition of several global analogues for Mediterranean active tectonics may lead to new insights into the dominant forces behind tectonic processes there.