Rocks In Subduction Zones Research Articles

Eocene-Oligocene volcanic units of momen abad, east of Iran: petrogenesis and magmatic evolution

This study investigates petrology and major, minor, and rare earth elements ‎geochemistry of ‎East Iranian Eocene–Oligocene volcanic rocks in Sistan suture ‎zone, to examine their ‎petrogenesis and magma evolution. The volcanic rocks include andesite, trachy-andesite, dacite ‎and rhyolite. ‎These calc-alkaline rocks of high-K series are enriched in Large ‎Ion Lithophile ‎Elements of Rb and Ba and depleted in High Field Strength Elements ‎(e.g. Ti and Nb). The REE ‎pattern shows Eu negative anomaly. These ‎features are comparable with rocks in subduction ‎zone of continental ‎margin setting. ‎The petrographic features and the geochemical variation ‎of major oxides and trace ‎elements against SiO2 can be related to fractional ‎crystallization in parent magma. The trace ‎element ratios, e.g. Nb/La, Nb/U, Ba/Rb, Nb/Y and Rb/Y, verify crustal ‎contamination with a remarkable upper ‎crustal contamination as the main ‎process in the ‎formation of volcanic series. ‎The ratios of Nb/Ba and Nb/Zr indicate that magmatic activity in Momen Abad had ‎resulted ‎from sub-continental lithospheric mantle. In addition, Nb/Y and Zr/Yb versus ‎Ta/Yb reveals an ‎E-MORB like mantle source. A spinel lherzolite composition ‎with significant role of the ‎AFC processes are deduced from the concentrations of Yb and ‎Y, and the ratios of Th/Yb and ‎La/Yb. ‎The Ba/Nb, Ba/Th and Th/Nb ratios presume a metasomatized mantle source ‎resulted from ‎the melting of upper crust sediments inherited from the subduction of ‎Neotethys ocean beneath ‎the Lut Block. ‎

Lithium isotope systematics of the Sumdo Eclogite, Tibet: Tracing fluid/rock interaction of subducted low-T altered oceanic crust

Abstract The Sumdo eclogite, located in the central Lhasa Terrane, Tibet, has received much attention as it has important implications for the tectonic evolution of the Tibet orogenic belt. Aiming to constrain the Lithium (Li) isotope characteristics of rocks in subduction zones, we investigated whole-rock major and trace elements, Li isotopes as well as oxygen (O) and radiogenic (Sr, Nd, and Pb) isotopes on 20 Sumdo eclogite samples. The investigated samples display REE patterns similar to N-MORB, with relatively homogeneous bulk eNd(t=260Ma) values ranging from +4.0 to +7.8. These data suggest that protoliths of the Sumdo eclogite were N-MORB-type oceanic basalts. Yet, initial 87Sr/86Sr and δ18O are heterogeneous and range from 0.703703 to 0.706645 and from +4.9 to +8.9‰, respectively. A positive correlation between Sr and oxygen isotopic compositions suggests that the MORB protoliths had experienced low temperature seafloor alteration prior to subduction. The Li contents and δ7Li values of Sumdo eclogite vary from 3.64 to 29.7 µg/g and −1.1 to +4.0‰, respectively, significantly lower than those of low T altered MORBs (AOC) that usually have high Li contents (up to 33 µg/g) and heavy Li isotopic compositions (δ7Li up to +14‰). Modelling results suggests limited Li isotopic fractionation during dehydration. After eliminating the effect of diffusion, we suggest that a rehydration stage during exhumation may be responsible for the Li isotope systematics of the Sumdo eclogite. The fluids (

Physical property anisotropy of foliated fault rocks: Study from the Nobeoka Thrust, Shimanto Belt, southwest Japan

AbstractTo investigate the physical property anisotropies of foliated fault rocks in subduction zones, the hanging wall phyllites and footwall cataclasites exhumed along the Nobeoka Thrust, a fossilized out‐of‐sequence‐thrust in the Shimanto Belt, Japan, was focused. Discrete physical property (electric resistivity, P‐ and S‐wave velocities, and porosity) measurements were conducted employing geologic coordinates (depth‐parallel direction, strike direction, and maximum dip direction of foliation), using the core samples obtained from the Nobeoka Thrust Drilling Project and compared the data to borehole geophysical logs. A higher sample P‐wave velocity (Vp), lower S‐wave velocity (Vs), higher Vp/Vs, and lower sample porosity and resistivity compared to the logs, are inferred to have been caused by the larger sampling scale of the logs and lower fluid saturation of the borehole. The phyllites and cataclasites exhibited substantial vertical and horizontal anisotropy of Vp (0.4–17.3 % and 2.7–13.8 %, respectively), Vs (0.5–56 % and 7.7–43 %, respectively), and resistivity (0.9–119 % and 2.0–65.9 %, respectively). The physical property anisotropies are primarily affected by the dip angles of foliation. The fault rocks that have gentler dip angles exhibit a higher Vp in the strike and maximum dip direction and a lower Vp in the depth‐parallel direction. In contrast, the fault rocks that have steeply dipping structures show a higher Vp in the strike and depth‐parallel directions with a lower velocity in the maximum dip direction. Resistivity anisotropy show a trend opposite to that of the Vp in relation to the dip angles. Our results show lower Vp anisotropy than those obtained in previous studies, which measured wave speeds perpendicular or parallel to foliation under confining pressure. This study highlights the significance of dip angles on vertical properties in geophysical surveys across foliated fault rocks.

Pseudosection modelling and garnet Lu–Hf geochronology of HP amphibole schists constrain the closure of an ocean basin between the northern and southern Lhasa blocks, central Tibet

AbstractThe P–T–t path of high‐P metamorphic rocks in subduction zones may reveal valuable information regarding the tectonic processes along convergent plate boundaries. Herein, we present a detailed petrological, pseudosection modelling and radiometric dating study of several amphibole schists of oceanic affinity from the Lhasa Block, Tibet. The amphibole schists experienced an overall clockwise P–T path that was marked by post‐Pmax heating–decompression and subsequent isothermal decompression following the attainment of peak high‐P and low‐T conditions (~490°C and 1.6 GPa). Pseudosection modelling shows that the amphibole schists underwent water‐unsaturated conditions during prograde metamorphism, and the stability field of the assemblage extends to lower temperatures and higher pressures within the water‐unsaturated condition relative to water‐saturated model along the prograde path. The high‐P amphibole schists were highly reduced during retrograde metamorphism. Precise evaluation of the ferric iron conditions determined from the different compositions of epidote inclusions in garnet and matrix epidote is crucial for a true P–T estimate by garnet isopleth thermobarometry. Lu–Hf isotope analyses on garnet size separates from a garnet‐bearing amphibole schist yield four two‐point garnet–whole‐rock isochron ages from 228.2 ± 1.2 Ma to 224.3 ± 1.2 Ma. These Lu–Hf dates are interpreted to constrain the period of garnet growth and approximate the timing of prograde metamorphism because of the low peak metamorphic temperature of the rock and the well‐preserved Mn/Lu growth zoning in garnet. The majority of zircon U–Pb dates provide no constraints on the timing of metamorphism; however, two concordant U–Pb dates of 222.4 ± 3.9 Ma and 223.3 ± 4.2 Ma were obtained from narrow and uncommon metamorphic rims. Coexistence of zircon and sphene in the samples implies that the metamorphic zircon growth was likely assisted by retrogression of rutile to sphene during exhumation. The near coincident radiometric dates of zircon U–Pb and garnet Lu–Hf indicate rapid burial and exhumation of the amphibole schists, suggesting a closure time of c. 224–223 Ma for the fossil ocean basin between the northern and southern Lhasa blocks.

Post-peak metamorphic evolution of the Sumdo eclogite from the Lhasa terrane of southeast Tibet

A reconstruction of the pressure–temperature–time (P–T–t) path of high-pressure eclogite-facies rocks in subduction zones may reveal important information about the tectono-metamorphic processes that occur at great depths along the plate interface. The majority of studies have focused on prograde to peak metamorphism of these rocks, whereas after-peak metamorphism has received less attention. Herein, we present a detailed petrological, pseudosection modeling and radiometric dating study of a retrograded eclogite sample from the Sumdo ultrahigh pressure belt of the Lhasa terrane, Tibet. Mineral chemical variations, textural discontinuities and thermodynamic modeling suggest that the eclogite underwent an exhumation–heating period. Petrographic observations and phase equilibria modeling suggest that the garnet cores formed at the pressure peak (∼2.5GPa and ∼520°C) within the lawsonite eclogite-facies and garnet rims (∼1.5GPa and <650°C) grew during post-peak amphibole eclogite-facies metamorphism. The metamorphic evolution of the Sumdo eclogite is characterized by a clockwise P–T path with a heating stage during early exhumation, a finding that conflicts with previously reported heating-compression P–T paths for the Sumdo eclogite. A garnet–whole rock Lu–Hf age of 266.6±0.7Ma, which is consistent with the loosely constrained zircon U–Pb age of 261±15Ma within uncertainty, was obtained for the sample. The peak metamorphic temperature of the sample is lower than the Lu–Hf closure temperature of garnet, which combined with the general core-to-rim decrease in the Mn and Lu concentrations and the occurrence of a second maximum Lu peak in the inner rim, is consistent with the Lu–Hf system skewing to the age of the garnet inner rim. Thus the Lu–Hf age likely reflects late eclogite-facies metamorphism. The new U–Pb and Lu–Hf ages, together with previously published radiometric dating results, suggest that the overall growth of garnet spans an interval of ∼7millionyears, which is a minimum estimate of the duration of the eclogite-facies metamorphism of the Sumdo eclogite.

Evidence for brittle deformation events at eclogite-facies P-T conditions (example of the Mt. Emilius klippe, Western Alps)

Eclogitic rocks are crucial for the understanding of tectonic processes as they provide key constraints on both the P-T-t evolutions and the deformation modes sustained by rocks in subduction zones. Here we focus on eclogitised and deformed mafic bodies that are exposed within granulites from the continental basement slice of the Mt. Emilius klippe (Western Alps, Italy). These eclogites exhibit highly deformed garnetite and clinopyroxenite layers. In some places, these deformed rocks (up to mylonitic grade) can be found as clasts within meter-thick brecciated fault rocks that formed close to the lawsonite-eclogite facies peak P-T conditions. Garnet-rich layers are dominated by brittle features, whereas deformation within clinopyroxene-rich layers is accommodated by both creep and fracturing. We present a petro-structural study of these eclogites, that allows to track the brittle deformation history associated with chemical evolution. Based on these data, we propose a new tectono-metamorphic model for these rocks, related to the alpine eclogitic stage. This model is consistent with the coexistence of both ductile and brittle features that developed at similar P-T conditions (i.e., at P~2.15–2.40GPa and T~500–550°C), and closely associated with fluid circulations. Our study demonstrates that crustal material, buried along the subduction interface at HP-LT conditions, can record several successive brittle events in places where deformation is classically envisioned as ductile. We suggest, based on our observations, that strain-rate increase along plate interface shear zones may trigger fracturing and fluid infiltration which in turn enables brittle-ductile instabilities along these deformation networks.

Crustal basement controls granitoid magmatism, and implications for generation of continental crust in subduction zones: A Sr–Nd–Hf–O isotopic study from the Paleozoic Tongbai orogen, central China

Ascertaining the petrogenesis of granitoid rocks in subduction zones holds the key for understanding the processes of how continental crust is produced. The synchronous Taoyuan and Huanggang plutons occur in two different geological units of the Paleozoic Tongbai orogen of central China. They provide an optimal opportunity for a study to address the role of the crustal basement in generating voluminous granitoid magmatism in subduction zones. The Taoyuan and Huanggang plutons have identical U–Pb zircon crystallization ages of 440–444Ma, which are temporally related to northward subduction of the Paleotethyan Ocean. The Taoyuan samples show high SiO2 (73.36–79.16%) and low Al2O3 (12.00–13.45%) contents, Mg numbers (20.6–38.2), and Sr/Y (2.04–10.1) and (La/Yb)N (2.34–7.32) ratios with negative Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu*=0.33–0.93). They yielded positive εNd(t) (+3.0 to +6.7) and εHf(t) (+11.8 to +13.2) values, elevated initial Sr isotopic ratios (0.7040–0.7057) and relatively low zircon δ18O values of 4.62–5.39‰. These suggest that they were produced through partial melting of hydrothermally altered lower crust of the accreted Erlangping oceanic arc. In contrast, the Huanggang samples exhibit variable whole-rock geochemical and isotopic compositions with SiO2 contents of 57.01–64.42wt.%, initial Sr isotopic ratios of 0.7065–0.7078, and εNd(t) values of −5.7 to −9.4. Additionally, they have high zircon δ18O values of 7.57–8.45‰ and strongly negative zircon εHf(t) values of −14.4 to −10.5. They were suggested to have been mainly derived from ancient continental crust of the Kuanping crustal unit with the addition of 20–40% juvenile, mantle-derived material. Accordingly, the granitoids in both oceanic and continental arcs are likely to be mainly derived from intracrustal melting of their crustal basement. It is revealed by the Huanggang pluton that little net continental crust growth occurs in continental arcs, and addition of new volume of continental crust may be balanced by the loss of old mafic lower continental crust. Continental growth was likely achieved through the accretion and subsequent differentiation of oceanic arcs, as manifested by the Taoyuan pluton.

The role of F-clinohumite in volatile recycling processes in subduction zones

It is not well understood how much water and other volatiles are really contained in different mantle rocks or minerals, and how these volatiles are transported down into the deeper mantle in subduction zones. Here we present new experimental data showing that a common mineral found in subduction zone rocks, the hydrated Mg-silicate clinohumite, is much more stable in the mantle than previously anticipated. We show that even small amounts of F – substituting for OH – are sufficient to stabilize clinohumite to temperatures well above the normal mantle geotherm. Based on this finding we propose that in subduction zones, clinohumite effectively transports water and other volatiles from shallow depths to the transition zone of the mantle. This can drastically increase the amount of fluorine and water recycled into the deep mantle.

Two types of the crust-mantle interaction in continental subduction zones

Plate subduction is an important mechanism for exchanging the mass and energy between the mantle and the crust, and the igneous rocks in subduction zones are the important carriers for studying the recycling of crustal materials and the crust-mantle interaction. This study presents a review of geochronology and geochemistry for postcollisional mafic igneous rocks from the Hong’an-Dabie-Sulu orogens and the southeastern edge of the North China Block. The available results indicate two types of the crust-mantle interaction in the continental subduction zone, which are represented by two types of mafic igneous rocks with distinct geochemical compositions. The first type of rocks exhibit arc-like trace element distribution patterns (i.e. enrichment of LILE, LREE and Pb, but depletion of HFSE) and enriched radiogenic Sr-Nd isotope compositions, whereas the second type of rocks show OIB-like trace element distribution patterns (i.e. enrichment of LILE and LREE, but no depletion of HFSE) and depleted radiogenic Sr-Nd isotope compositions. Both of them have variable zircon O isotope compositions, which are different from those of the normal mantle zircon, and contain residual crustal zircons. These geochemical features indicate that the two types of mafic igneous rocks were originated from the different natures of mantle sources. The mantle source for the second type of rocks would be generated by reaction of the overlying juvenile lithospheric mantle with felsic melts originated from previously subducted oceanic crust, whereas the mantle source for the first type of rocks would be generated by reaction of the overlying ancient lithospheric mantle of the North China Block with felsic melts from subsequently subducted continental crust of the South China Block. Therefore, there exist two types of the crust-mantle interaction in the continental subduction zone, and the postcollisional mafic igneous rocks provide petrological and geochemical records of the slab-mantle interactions in continental collision orogens.

Geothermobarometric history of subduction recorded by quartz inclusions in garnet

Burial histories of subduction zone rocks are often difficult to accurately constrain, owing to a lack of robust mineral geobarometers applicable to high pressure mineral assemblages. Knowledge of the depth‐histories of subduction is, however, required for our understanding of global geochemical cycles, subduction‐related seismicity, and the evolution of destructive tectonic boundaries. The high spatial resolution of quartz inclusion geobarometry can be used to determine pressure evolution during metamorphic growth of individual garnet crystals. Quartz inclusions in garnet from Sifnos, Greece, preserve such a record of the pressure of garnet growth, allowing detailed reconstruction of the metamorphic evolution of these rocks. Pressure‐dependent Raman spectra of quartz inclusions were combined with elastic modeling to infer the conditions at which they were trapped during garnet growth. All measured inclusions suggest that garnet growth occurred between 19 and 20.5 kbars, with little evidence for significant pressure variation during the garnet growth interval, which is interpreted to record ∼100°C of heating. Coupled with thermometry and geochronology, these results show that early, cold burial was followed by a phase of rapid heating, which immediately preceded exhumation. Garnet growth occurred primarily during this heating phase.

Stress state of rocks in subduction zone

The authors use the boundary element method in the 2D elastic problem to investigate the regularities of the principal stress distribution in the subduction of the oceanic plate under the continental plate under different boundary conditions. The investigation covers the cases when the fault zone has irregularities and the fault zone boundary is smooth. The point displacements at the boundaries of the continental and oceanic plates are analyzed. It is shown that the anticlimax induced by an instantaneous failure along the fault zone irregularities can generate an earthquake with M s = 7.5 and higher magnitude, with 2–7-meter shears of the oceanic and continental lithospheric plates.

Tectonic mélange as fault rock of subduction plate boundary

An assemblage of quantitative data sets is examined to evaluate tectonic mélange as a plate boundary fault rocks in subduction zone. The research object is the latest Cretaceous Mugi mélange in the Shimanto Belt, southwest Japan. Systematic age younging from pelagic to terrigenous through hemipelagic sediments is well-documented even though original stratigraphy is disrupted. Systematic shear fabric consistent with ancient plate convergence is reconstructed. The mélange was formed at temperatures of ~130–200°C by cataclastic comminution of sandstone layers accompanied by tensile cracking, and plastic deformation and the dehydration of clayey shale matrix, with subsequent peeling off and underplating of the oceanic basement.The temperature setting for the Mugi mélange indicates around the up-dip limit of the seismogenic zone, therefore includes various fault rocks suggestive of earthquake fault; pseudotachylyte, fluidized ultracataclasite with heating evidence, amorphous silica and so on. These suggest that fluid induced lubrication was dominated. Localized cataclastic shear, which is a candidate of small earthquake or very low frequency earthquake, is also recognized especially in sandstone blocks dominated portion in mélange. These observations are consistent with the mélange being a fault rock along the plate boundary that records various types of earthquakes in a subduction zone. The quantitative examination of the Mugi mélange suggests several criteria to define the tectonic mélange of the plate boundary fault in subduction zone from other mélanges in orogenic belt.

Changes in dip of subducted slabs at depth: Petrological and geochronological evidence from HP–UHP rocks (Tianshan, NW-China)

High-resolution seismic imaging has previously revealed sudden changes in the dip of subducted oceanic plates. This ‘kinking’ feature is crucial because in many subduction zones it is thought to coincide with the disappearance of the low-velocity layers associated with subducted oceanic crust. In this study, we present petrological evidence for this phenomenon derived from oceanic blueschist- and eclogite-facies rocks from the Chinese Tianshan. The investigated samples span a large range of peak metamorphic conditions, with temperatures between 330 and 580 °C at 1.5 to 2.3 GPa. Such variable peak metamorphic conditions, together with the intimate interlayering of high- and ultrahigh-pressure rocks, have also been reported from other Tianshan localities. These observations suggest that the rocks were derived from varying depths within the subduction zone and then juxtaposed during exhumation in the subduction channel. Multi-point Lu–Hf isochrons from four high-pressure rocks yield consistent garnet-growth ages of 313 ± 12, 315.8 ± 2.9, 313.9 ± 4.8, and 315.2 ± 1.6 Ma. These, in conjunction with the ~ 311 Ma cluster of published 40Ar– 39Ar and Rb–Sr white mica ages from the same vicinities imply fast exhumation rates. The Lu–Hf ages confirm that the eclogite-facies metamorphism of the Tianshan high-pressure rocks occurred during a single subduction event in the Late Carboniferous. However, the previously reported peak metamorphic P-T estimates from UHP metasediments and eclogites all lie on a lower geothermal gradient – and thus on a colder P-T path at the slab-wedge interface – than the HP eclogites and meta-volcaniclastic rocks from this study. This suggests that the slab-subduction angle steepened sharply at a depth greater than approximately 90 km, i.e., between the depths at which the HP and UHP rocks equilibrated. In addition to the negative buoyancy of mafic UHP rocks in subduction zones, the kinking may act as a geometric hindrance to the exhumation of such rocks, thereby explaining their rarity.

Slab melting versus slab dehydration in subduction-zone magmatism

The second critical endpoint in the basalt-H(2)O system was directly determined by a high-pressure and high-temperature X-ray radiography technique. We found that the second critical endpoint occurs at around 3.4 GPa and 770 °C (corresponding to a depth of approximately 100 km in a subducting slab), which is much shallower than the previously estimated conditions. Our results indicate that the melting temperature of the subducting oceanic crust can no longer be defined beyond this critical condition and that the fluid released from subducting oceanic crust at depths greater than 100 km under volcanic arcs is supercritical fluid rather than aqueous fluid and/or hydrous melts. The position of the second critical endpoint explains why there is a limitation to the slab depth at which adakitic magmas are produced, as well as the origin of across-arc geochemical variations of trace elements in volcanic rocks in subduction zones.

Spherules with pure iron cores from Myanmar jadeitite: Type-I deep-sea spherules?

Here we report spherules in Myanmar jadeitite, a rock forming from jadeitic fluids within mantle-derived serpentinized rocks in subduction zones under high-pressure conditions (>1.0 GPa) and rather low temperatures of about 250–370 °C. The spherules have off-centre iron nuclei and dendritic wüstite cortexes, with tiny wüstite crystals perpendicular to the surface of iron core. Within the spherules are vesicles occupied by calcite, jadeite, albite? or mixtures of these phases, and the cortexes contain about 10 wt.% SiO 2 + Al 2O 3 + Na 2O filling materials within wüstite. The spherules are in direct contact with jadeite crystals. Contrasting patterns of some individual spherules are obvious between a front area with a crowd of hill-like prominences and a rear zone with one or more rings on the surface. Such surface features and internal textures suggest that they experienced movement at high temperature and then rapid cooling. Chemical compositions of the nuclei are homogenous and consist of nearly pure iron with minor Cr (<0.05 wt.%), Mn (<0.80 wt.%), and Ni (0.142–0.23 wt.%), and a trend of Ni decreasing and Cr increasing from core to cortex. Mn in the cortex (up to about 2.00 wt.%) is far more enriched than the nucleus. The bulk ratios (average) of δ 56Fe and δ 57Fe in the core and cortex are 0.51and 0.78, respectively. Such features suggest that there is a very low possibility of origin associated with volcanic explosive eruption, impact ejecta, chemical reduction or oxidation of iron on seafloor. Since biological reduction processes are not significant under high P/T condition in subduction zones, this origin is excluded. Considering their low Ni contents, it is more likely that they belong to the minor type-I deep-sea cosmic spherules/dusts of low isotope fractionation. This discovery shows that such spherules could remain stable under low-temperature and high-pressure conditions during recycling processes, and therefore could be found in rocks related to slab-derived sediments within subduction zones. This also suggests that subducted oceanic slab sediments contribute to the formation of jadeitite, coupled with dehydration of sediments and altered oceanic crust.

New results in the calculation of dehydration of metabasic rocks in subduction zones

New results in the calculation of dehydration of metabasic rocks in subduction zones

Carbon recycled into deep Earth: Evidence from dolomite dissociation in subduction-zone rocks: Comment and Reply

I appreciate the interest that Hermann has shown in our study of carbon recycled into deep Earth ([Zhu and Ogasawara, 2002a][1]). The work reported in that paper was accomplished in Ogasawara's laboratory at Waseda University; all samples were collected by Ogasawara, and the first author

Carbon recycled into deep Earth: Evidence from dolomite dissociation in subduction-zone rocks: Comment and Reply

[Zhu and Ogasawara (2002)][1] interpret the textures and mineralogy of dolomitic marbles from the Kokchetav massif in terms of pressure-induced dissociation of dolomite (dol) to aragonite (ara) + magnesite (mag). On the basis of this assumption they postulate a minimum metamorphic pressure of 7.85

Record in metamorphic tourmalines of subduction-zone devolatilization and boron cycling

Boron concentrations and isotope compositions of fluids and lavas from subduction-zone settings show great potential for elucidating mass flux at Earth's modern convergent margins. However, the fluid-mineral-melt behaviorof B and its two stable isotopes remains relatively poorly understood. Boron isotope analyses of tourmaline in metasedimentary rocks subducted to 15-90 km depths (1) demonstrate the ability of this mineral to retain information regarding prograde devolatilization history in even highly retrograded rocks and (2) indicate the importance of tourmaline in affecting whole-rock B loss and B isotope evolution during subduction-zone metamorphism. The B lost from micas during metamorphism of subducting sedimentary rocks and altered oceanic crust is isotopically more enriched in 1 1 B than the B retained in the micas. Beneath forearcs and volcanic arcs, the B from micas is either removed from the subduction-zone rocks via metamorphic fluids or sequestered by growing tourmaline, in which the B can be entrained to even greater depths. Here we demonstrate that these metamorphic fluids could contribute to the relatively high 811B signatures observed in most arc lavas and the across-arc trends of decreasing δ 1 1 B observed in several arcs.

Subduction factory 1. Theoretical mineralogy, densities, seismic wave speeds, and H2O contents

We present a new compilation of physical properties of minerals relevant to subduction zones and new phase diagrams for mid‐ocean ridge basalt, lherzolite, depleted lherzolite, harzburgite, and serpentinite. We use these data to calculate H2O content, density and seismic wave speeds of subduction zone rocks. These calculations provide a new basis for evaluating the subduction factory, including (1) the presence of hydrous phases and the distribution of H2O within a subduction zone; (2) the densification of the subducting slab and resultant effects on measured gravity and slab shape; and (3) the variations in seismic wave speeds resulting from thermal and metamorphic processes at depth. In considering specific examples, we find that for ocean basins worldwide the lower oceanic crust is partially hydrated (&lt;1.3 wt % H2O), and the uppermost mantle ranges from unhydrated to ∼20% serpentinized (∼2.4 wt % H2O). Anhydrous eclogite cannot be distinguished from harzburgite on the basis of wave speeds, but its ∼6% greater density may render it detectable through gravity measurements. Subducted hydrous crust in cold slabs can persist to several gigapascals at seismic velocities that are several percent slower than the surrounding mantle. Seismic velocities and VP/VS ratios indicate that mantle wedges locally reach 60–80% hydration.