Trench-parallel flow and seismic anisotropy in the Mariana and Andean subduction systems

Erik A. Kneller () and Peter E. van Keken
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Erik A. Kneller: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA
Peter E. van Keken: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA

Nature, 2007, vol. 450, issue 7173, 1222-1225

Abstract: Abstract Shear-wave splitting measurements above the mantle wedge of the Mariana1 and southern Andean2,3 subduction zones show trench-parallel seismically fast directions close to the trench and abrupt rotations to trench-perpendicular anisotropy in the back arc. These patterns of seismic anisotropy may be caused by three-dimensional flow associated with along-strike variations in slab geometry1,2,3,4,5. The Mariana and Andean subduction systems are associated with the largest along-strike variations of slab geometry observed on Earth6,7 and are ideal for testing the link between slab geometry and solid-state creep processes in the mantle. Here we show, with fully three-dimensional non-newtonian subduction zone models, that the strong curvature of the Mariana slab and the transition to shallow slab dip in the Southern Andes give rise to strong trench-parallel stretching in the warm-arc and warm-back-arc mantle and to abrupt rotations in stretching directions that are accompanied by strong trench-parallel stretching. These models show that the patterns of shear-wave splitting observed in the Mariana and southern Andean systems may be caused by significant three-dimensional flow induced by along-strike variations in slab geometry.

Date: 2007
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DOI: 10.1038/nature06429

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