Forearc Subsidence Research Articles

Structural-morphological and sedimentary features of forearc slope off Miyagi, NE Japan: implications for development of forearc basins and plumbing systems

Multibeam (MB) and subbottom profile (SBP) data along the forearc slope off Miyagi, Japan, are combined to investigate structural-morphological and sedimentary structures along the forearc slope of the Japan Trench subduction zone. In addition to dip-oriented slope gullies, the MB data image a nearly dip-perpendicular slope trough bounded by a fault scarp landward of the trench-slope break. Seaward of the trench-slope break, the subbottom mostly contains normal faults that dip in opposite directions. The SBP data show not only unconformity and sliding surfaces, but also underfilled (forearc trough) and filled structures that may reflect the most recent forearc subsidence and basin filling. We propose these forearc trough and associated filling structures may indicate the earliest developments of modern isolated basins. Thus, a model of forearc basin development from slope gully to slope trough, isolated basins and forearc basin, transferred by active structures, could be proposed. Observed seafloor liquefaction in the SBP data may represent a near-surface seep structure of a plumbing system that enables hydrosphere-mantle fluid migration plausibly activated by earthquake cycles.

Long-term non-erosive nature of the south Costa Rican margin supported by arc-derived sediments accreted in the Osa Mélange

Understanding the erosive and accretionary nature of convergent margins is significant to understand tectonics and the crustal mass balance at subduction zones. The Costa Rican margin is commonly regarded as an archetypal example of an erosive margin, where subduction of sediments and basal removal of the upper plate in the subduction zone have occurred for most of the Cainozoic. This view is supported by structural constraints from 3D seismic reflection data in the outer forearc, as well as periods of forearc subsidence at ODP/DSDP/IODP drill sites. However, determining the origin of the Upper Eocene-Miocene Osa Mélange that is exposed in south Costa Rica only 10–30 km from today's trench offers another opportunity to constrain the long-term erosive, accretionary, and/or non-erosive evolution of the margin. Existing models for formation of the mélange propose that it resulted from (i) accretion of arc-derived trench-fill sediments, (ii) punctual accretion of the clastic apron of an ocean islands system, (iii) local dismemberment of the margin due to tectonic erosion, or (iv) in-situ deformation of a forearc sedimentary cover. To test the validity of these models and provide new constraints on the accretionary and/or erosive nature of the margin we studied the provenance of volcaniclastic material in the Upper Eocene San Pedrillo Unit of the Osa Mélange using geochemical analysis of detrital pyroxenes, amphiboles and igneous rocks. This innovative approach to determine the origin(s) of dismembered sedimentary sequences reveals that the volcaniclastic fraction of the mélange is, without ambiguity, predominantly composed of forearc material that preserves an assemblage of arc basement, proto-arc and arc sequences of the pre-Oligocene Costa Rican margin. This result and previous geological constraints show that the Osa Mélange formed through accretion of arc-derived trench-fill deposits in the Late Eocene to Miocene, with possibly minor tectonic incorporation of intra-oceanic material (ocean floor and seamount sequences). Therefore, consistently with recent seismic observations in south Costa Rica that document a phase of accretion within the past ∼5 m.yr., preservation of arc-derived sediments in the Osa Mélange shows that the margin was predominantly non-erosive over the past ∼35 m.yr. Cycles of subsidence and uplift in the south Costa Rican forearc during this period could represent a tectonic response to episodic subduction of seamounts formed at the Galapagos Hotspot, without causal link to short-term subduction erosion or accretion. Fundamentally, new results from the Osa Mélange show that large (10 km-thick) accretionary complexes can form durably due to local sedimentary recycling of the forearc in seamount collisional settings. The recycled component of the NW Osa Mélange exemplifies that quantifying the extent of local recycling vs net crustal addition through accretion of intra-oceanic sequences or net crustal loss due to tectonic erosion poses a serious challenge to determine the crustal mass balance at subduction zones.

Mechanism of subsidence of the Northeast Japan forearc during the late period of a gigantic earthquake cycle

The forearc in Northeast Japan subsided (3–4 mm/year) in the interseismic ~100 years before the 2011 Tohoku earthquake (MW9.1) just like it did during this event. This study attempts to understand the mechanism of the vertical displacement of the forearc during gigantic earthquake cycles via numerical modeling. The results suggest that the interseismic subsidence rate in the forearc increases with the duration of the locking of the asperity of the gigantic earthquake over several hundred years, due to the increasing slip deficit rate on the deeper parts of the plate interface. The increasing slip deficit rate is caused by both the decreasing the shear stress in the shear zone owing to the continuous locking of the asperity and the increasing the mobility of the continental lithosphere owing to the viscoelastic relaxation in the mantle wedge. The deep slip deficit rate extending to ~100 km depth of the plate interface is necessary to explain the observed interseismic forearc subsidence rate. The results also suggest hundreds of years of continuous locking of the asperities of a gigantic earthquake in the western Kuril subduction zone, where fast forearc subsidence has been observed as well.

Paleomagnetism of IODP Site U1380: Implications for the Forearc Deformation in the Costa Rican Erosive Convergent Margin

The destructive nature of subduction erosion poses challenges to fully understanding the evolution of erosive convergent margins that are critical to understanding crustal recycling and seismogenesis. Forearc deformation holds important clues to the evolution of erosive convergent margins. Here we present detailed paleomagnetic and structural analyses of IODP Site U1380 cores from the middle slope of the forearc of the Costa Rican erosive convergent margin. The analyses reveal a strong deformation zone from ~490 to ~550 mbsf that is characterized by abundant fissility/foliations shallower than the bedding. Similar relatively strong deformation zones are recognized from the frontal prism and upper slope sites, and are broadly correlative, forming a zone of strong deformation across the forearc. This zone spans ~2.0 to 1.83 Ma and the deformation likely occurred briefly at ~1.80 Ma. The widespread, short-lived, and strong deformation is interpreted as a result of intense subhorizontal shear following the rapid forearc subsidence driven by the dramatic subduction erosion associated with the abrupt onset of the Cocos Ridge subduction. Given the typical occurrence of forearc subsidence by subduction erosion, similar styles of deformation are probably common in other erosive convergent margins as well.

Topography of the Overriding Plate During Progressive Subduction: A Dynamic Model to Explain Forearc Subsidence

AbstractOverriding plate topography provides constraints on subduction zone geodynamics. We investigate its evolution using fully dynamic laboratory models of subduction with techniques of stereoscopic photogrammetry and particle image velocimetry. Model results show that the topography is characterized by an area of forearc dynamic subsidence, with a magnitude scaling to 1.44–3.97 km in nature, and a local topographic high between the forearc subsided region and the trench. These topographic features rapidly develop during the slab free‐sinking phase and gradually decrease during the steady state slab rollback phase. We propose that they result from the variation of the vertical component of the trench suction force along the subduction zone interface, which gradually increases with depth and results from the gradual slab steepening during the initial transient slab sinking phase. The downward mantle flow in the nose of the mantle wedge plays a minor role in driving forearc subsidence.

How do subduction processes contribute to forearc Andean uplift? Insights from numerical models

We present numerical models to study how changes in the process of subduction may explain the observed Quaternary uplift of the Andean forearc region. Indeed, most segments of the South American Pacific coasts between 16 and 32°S have been uplifting since the Lower Pleistocene, following a period of stability of the forearc region. Models confirm that local uplift is expected to occur above ridges, this phenomenon being predominant in central Peru where the Nazca Ridge is subducting. We investigate the effects of slab pull, interplate friction and convergence velocity on the vertical displacements of the overriding plate. We propose that the global tendency to coastal uplift is accompanying the deceleration of the Nazca-South America convergence that occurred in the Pleistocene. In contrast, forearc subsidence may accompany increasing convergence velocities, as suggested by the subsidence history of the South America active margin.

Relationship between outer forearc subsidence and plate boundary kinematics along the Northeast Japan convergent margin

Tectonic erosion along convergent plate boundaries, whereby removal of upper plate material along the subduction zone interface drives kilometer‐scale outer forearc subsidence, has been purported to explain the evolution of nearly half the world's subduction margins, including part of the history of northeast Japan. Here, we evaluate the role of plate boundary dynamics in driving forearc subsidence in northeastern Japan. A synthesis of newly updated analyses of outer forearc subsidence, the timing and kinematics of upper plate deformation, and the history of plate convergence along the Japan trench demonstrate that the onset of rapid fore‐arc tectonic subsidence is contemporaneous with upper plate extension during the opening of the Sea of Japan and with an acceleration in convergence rate at the trench. In Plio‐Quaternary time, relative uplift of the outer forearc is contemporaneous with contraction across the arc and a decrease in plate convergence rate. The coincidence of these changes across the forearc, arc, backarc system appears to require an explanation at the scale of the entire plate boundary. Similar observations along other western Pacific margins suggest that correlations between forearc subsidence and major changes in plate kinematics are the rule, rather than the exception. We suggest that a significant component of forearc subsidence at the northeast Japan margin is not the consequence of basal tectonic erosion, but instead reflects dynamic changes in plate boundary geometry driven by temporal variations in plate kinematics. If correct, this model requires a reconsideration of the mass balance and crustal recycling of continental crust at nonaccretionary margins.

Controls on forearc basin architecture from seismic and sequence stratigraphy of the Upper Cretaceous Great Valley Group, central Sacramento Basin, California

Seismic and sequence stratigraphic analysis of deep-marine forearc basin fill (Great Valley Group) in the central Sacramento Basin, California, reveals eight third-order sequence boundaries within the Cenomanian to mid-Campanian second-order sequences. The third-order sequence boundaries are of two types: Bevelling Type, a relationship between underlying strata and onlapping high-density turbidites; and Entrenching Type, a significantly incised surface marked by deep channels and canyons carved during sediment bypass down-slope. Condensed sections of hemipelagic strata draping bathymetric highs and onlapped by turbidites form a third important type of sequence-bounding element, Onlapped Drapes. Five tectonic and sedimentary processes explain this stratigraphic architecture: (1) subduction-related tectonic tilting and deformation of the basin; (2) avulsion of principal loci of submarine fan sedimentation in response to basin tilting; (3) deep incision and sediment bypass; (4) erosive grading and bevelling of tectonically modified topography by sand-rich, high-density turbidite systems; and (5) background hemipelagic sedimentation. The basin-fill architecture supports a model of subduction-related flexure as the principal driver of forearc subsidence and uplift during the Late Cretaceous. Subduction-related tilting of the forearc and growth of the accretionary wedge largely controlled whether and where the Great Valley turbiditic sediments accumulated in the basin. Deeply incised surfaces of erosion, including submarine canyons and channels, indicate periods of turbidity current bypass to deeper parts of the forearc basin or the trench. Fluctuations in sediment supply likely also played an important role in evolution of basin fill, but effects of eustatic fluctuations were overwhelmed by the impact of basin tectonics and sediment supply and capture. Eventual filling and shoaling of the Great Valley forearc during early Campanian time, coupled with dramatically reduced subsidence, correlate with a change in plate convergence, presumed flat-slab subduction, cessation of Sierran arc volcanism, and onset of Laramide orogeny in the retroarc.

Relationship between outer forearc subsidence and plate boundary kinematics along the Northeast Japan convergent margin

Relationship between outer forearc subsidence and plate boundary kinematics along the Northeast Japan convergent margin

Major forearc subsidence and deep-marine Miocene sedimentation in the present Coastal Cordillera and Longitudinal Depression of south-central Chile (38 30'S-41 45'S)

Neogene marine strata crop out in the present Coastal Cordillera and Longitudinal Depression of south-central Chile between 38°30′S and 41°45′S, indicating the onset of a major marine transgression that covered most of the forearc in this area. In order to determine the sedimentary environment, paleobathymetry, and age of these deposits, we carried out integrated sedimentologic, ichnologic, and micropaleontologic studies on samples from oil wells and outcrops in the region. Our results indicate that these successions were deposited at lower-bathyal depths (>2000 m) during the middle to late Miocene. Shallow-marine deposition followed in the southwestern part of the study area during the Pliocene(?). We attribute deep-marine sedimentation in this area to a major event of subsidence in the Miocene that affected the entire forearc and that was caused by basal subduction erosion. We suggest that the anomalously thin crust that characterizes this area may have facilitated forearc subsidence and allowed the Miocene transgression to advance much farther inland here than in other regions of Chile. Subsequent uplift of the forearc is ascribed to basal accretion or underplating of sediments. Our conclusions contradict previous studies that favor a stable margin at these latitudes since the Jurassic. Deep-marine sedimentation in this area during the Miocene implies that the present Coastal Cordillera and Longitudinal Depression were probably submerged during that epoch.

Rapid and major coastal subsidence during the late Miocene in south-central Chile

Sedimentological and paleontological studies, including foraminifera, ostracodes, gastropods, and trace fossils, were carried out on Neogene sedimentary successions and offshore boreholes of south-central Chile (∼33°–45°S). Sedimentology shows the occurrence of a thin, shallow marine, basal conglomerate overlain by a succession that includes the following facies: massive sandstones, conglomerates, interbedded siltstones and sandstones showing Bouma cycles, parallel-laminated sandstones, synsedimentary breccias, slides, slumps, diamictites, and massive siltstones. These facies were deposited by gravity flows, with turbidity currents and sandy debris flows as the main modes of deposition. Paleontology indicates the occurrence of trace fossils assigned to the Zoophycos ichnofacies and deep-water (∼2000 m) benthic foraminifers, ostracodes, and gastropods. Sedimentology and paleontology indicate that deposition took place on a slope apron during a period of rapid and major forearc subsidence. Planktic foraminifers indicate ages ranging from the late Miocene to the early Pliocene (zones N16–N19) for these successions. We attribute this episode of major Neogene subsidence to an important event of subduction erosion that would have removed the underside of the upper continental plate and caused its thinning.

Two-phase opening of Andaman Sea: a new seismotectonic insight

High-resolution reconstruction of Benioff zone depth–dip angle trajectory for Burma–Java subduction margin between 2° and 17°N Lat. reveals two major episodes of plate geometry change expressed as abrupt deviation in subduction angle. Estimation of effective rate of subduction in different time slices (and then length of subducted slab) allowed drawing of isochrones in Ma interval through these trajectories for the time period 5–12 Ma. With these isochrones, the deformation events on the subducting Indian plate are constrained in time as of 4–5 and 11 Ma old. This well-constrained time connotation offered scope for the correlation of slab deformation events with the well-established two-phase opening history of the Andaman Sea. While the 11 Ma event recorded from southern part of the study area is correlated with early stretching and rifting phase, the 4–5 Ma event is interpreted as major forcing behind the spreading phase of the Andaman Sea. Systematic spatio-temporal evaluation of Indian plate obliquity on the Andaman Sea evolution shows its definite control on the early rifting phase, initiated towards south near northwest Sumatra. The much young spreading phase recorded towards north of 7° Lat. is possibly the result of late Miocene–Pliocene trench retreat and follow-up transcurrent movement (along Sagaing and Sumatran fault system) with NW–SE pull-apart extension. Nonconformity between plate shape and subduction margin geometry is interpreted as the causative force behind Mid-Miocene intraplate extension and tearing. Enhanced stretching in the overriding plate consequently caused active forearc subsidence, recorded all along this plate margin. Initial phase of the Andaman Sea opening presumably remains concealed in this early–middle Miocene forearc subsidence history. The late Miocene–Pliocene pull-apart opening and spreading was possibly initiated near the western part of the Mergui–Sumatra region and propagated northward in subsequent period. A temporary halt in rifting at this pull-apart stage and northeastward veering of the Andaman Sea Ridge (ASR) are related with uplifting of oceanic crust in post-middle Miocene time in form of Alcock and Sewell seamounts, lying symmetrically north and south of this spreading ridge.

Variation in forearc basin development along the Sunda Arc, Indonesia

The present forearc basin configuration along the Sunda Arc initially appears to have been controlled by extension and differential subsidence of basement blocks in response to the late Eocene collision of India with Asia. The late Oligocene increase in convergence between the South-east Asian and Indian Plates associated with a new pulse of subduction, resulted in basement uplift and the formation of a regional unconformity that can be recognized along the entire Sunda Arc. From the early to late Miocene, the Sumba and Savu forearc sectors along the eastern Sunda Arc may have been characterized by forearc extension. Submarine fan deposition on the arcward side of the evolving accretionary prism represents the first phase in forearc basin deposition. These fans were subsequently covered by basin and slope sediments derived from the evolving magmatic arc. Structural response to increased late Miocene compression varied along strike of the Sunda Arc. North of Bali, Lombok and Sumbawa, the incipient collision between Australia and the western Banda Arc caused back-arc thrusting and basin inversion. Towards the south of Java, an increase in both the size of the accretionary prism and convergence rates resulted in uplift and large scale folding of the outer forearc basin strata. Along the west coast of Sumatra, increased compression resulted in uplift along the inner side of the forearc along older transcurrent faults. Uplift of West Sumatra was followed by the deposition of a westward prograding sequence of terrigenous sediments that resulted in the development of a broad shelf. Initial forearc basin subsidence relates to the age of the subducting oceanic lithosphere, on top of which the basin is situated. Along the western Sunda Arc, both fexural loading of the evolving accretionary prism, and across arc strike-slip faulting represent additional factors that result in forearc subsidence.

Tectonics and geology of spreading ridge subduction at the Chile Triple Junction: a synthesis of results from Leg 141 of the Ocean Drilling Program

An active oceanic spreading ridge is being subducted beneath the South American continent at the Chile Triple Junction. This process has played a major part in the evolution of most of the continental margins that border the Pacific Ocean basin. A combination of high resolution swath bathymetric maps, seismic reflection profiles and drillhole and core data from five sites drilled during Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 141 provide important data that define the tectonic, structural and stratigraphic effects of this modern example of spreading ridge subduction. A change from subduction accretion to subduction erosion occurs along-strike of the South American forearc. This change is prominently expressed by normal faulting, forearc subsidence, oversteepening of topographic slopes and intensive sedimentary mass wasting, overprinted on older signatures of sediment accretion, overthrusting and uplift processes in the forearc. Data from drill sites north of the triple junction (Sites 859–861) show that after an important phase of forearc building in the early to late Pliocene, subduction accretion had ceased in the late Pliocene. Since that time sediment on the downgoing oceanic Nazca plate has been subducted. Site 863 was drilled into the forearc in the immediate vicinity of the triple junction above the subducted spreading ridge axis. Here, thick and intensely folded and faulted trench slope sediments of Pleistocene age are currently involved in the frontal deformation of the forearc. Early faults with thrust and reverse kinematics are overprinted by later normal faults. The Chile Triple Junction is also the site of apparent ophiolite emplacement into the South American forearc. Drilling at Site 862 on the Taitao Ridge revealed an offshore volcanic sequence of Plio-Pleistocene age associated with the Taitao Fracture Zone, adjacent to exposures of the Pliocene-aged Taitao ophiolite onshore. Despite the large-scale loss of material from the forearc at the triple junction, ophiolite emplacement produces a large topographic promontory in the forearc immediately after ridge subduction, and represents the first stage of forearc rebuilding.

Pleistocene deformation of a portion of the Southern Cascadia Forearc: Prairie Creek Formation, northern California

The Prairie Creek Formation, a sedimentary unit of limited outcrop extent (150 km2) on the southern Cascadia forearc in northern California, provides geologic data that constrain the style of tectonic activity in this portion of the forearc during the time interval 4(?) Ma to about 0.5 Ma. The formation records deposition of approximately 550 m of mostly fluvial sediment during a period of subsidence of the forearc. The formation was deposited by a large braided river, most likely an ancestral Klamath River, that prograded into the forearc. Sedimentation mainly consisted of sand and well‐rounded conglomeratic alluvium. However, within the lower half of the section, there occur several thin horizons of coarse angular conglomerate of a distinctive lithology. The only likely provenance for this anomalous conglomerate is fault scarps intermittently exposed near the area of deposition. The tectonic setting of this portion of the southern Cascadia forearc in late Pliocene or early Pleistocene through mid‐Pleistocene was therefore one of general forearc subsidence with intermittent uplift due to faulting. Intercalation of sand and gravel braidplain deposits in the fluvial section suggests periodic changes in the net subsidence rate. Subsidence culminated in a brief period of submergence followed shortly by uplift to as much as 500 m in the late Pleistocene. The transition to uplift records a significant change in tectonic regime. This change may be due to the deformational effects of either or both of the following tectonic processes: northward encroachment of the Mendocino triple junction during the late Pleistocene, or a late Pleistocene change in the direction and/or rate of convergence of the Juan de Fuca plate relative to the overriding North American plate.

Evolution of intra-oceanic arc-trench systems

Intra-oceanic island arc-trench systems represent a locus of crustal thickening through the addition of mantle-derived magmas which form the volcanoes and subjacent stratiform plutons. The crust of immature island arcs and adjacent back-arc basins is oceanic in chemistry in that it is dominated by mafic (e.g., tholeiitic) magmas. A magma sequence is recognized in many arc systems which progress from boninite to arc-tholeiite to calc-alkaline and, in some arcs, to shoshonites. The adjacent back-arc basins are formed of MORB-like tholeiite. Arc systems may be dominated by extension rather than compression if the subducted and overriding plates are decoupled. Extension of the arc system may be associated with seaward retreat or “ roll back” of the trench axis. Alternate cycles of extension and compression of the arc system can lead to both tectonic erosion of the fore-arc and accretion of fragments from the incoming sea floor. The Izu-Bonin, Mariana, Tonga, Yap and Palau trench-arc systems are examples of different stages in a dynamic process which starts when subduction begins along old fracture zone traces. Crustal extension causes both fore-arc subsidence and opening of back-arc basins. Island arc volcanic chains and back-arc basins are new crust formed largely of fractional melts of the mantle. The evolution of an arc system may stop when blocking of the subduction zone, or changes in relative plate motion, causes overthrusting of back-arc lithosphere on to former volcanic arcs. Many ophiolites preserve remnants of arc system crust and upper mantle.

Sedimentary record of subduction to forearc transition in the rotated Eocene basin of western Oregon

Systematic changes in compositions of Eocene sandstones in the southern part of the Oregon Coast Range constrain proposed models of tectonic accretion and rotation of this crustal fragment. Three basic petrofacies of lithic, arkosic, and volcanolithic composition can be defined sequentially from the base to the top of the section. The lithic petrofacies was deposited prior to rotation and was derived from the nearby Klamath Mountains during collision of the subjacent seamount terrane. The transition to arkosic composition coincided with the end of collision and the initiation of forearc basin subsidence. The arkosic sands contain muscovite and potassium feldspar derived from a continental-plutonic source area; their presence in the forearc sequence suggests that the Coast Range block lay farther to the east and closer to interior parts of the Mesozoic batholith belt prior to tectonic rotation. Volcanolithic sandstones were deposited after rotation of the Coast Range had begun, and they mark the beginning of volcanic activity in the adjacent Cascade arc.