Arc-parallel flow in the mantle wedge beneath Costa Rica and Nicaragua

Kaj Hoernle (), David L. Abt, Karen M. Fischer, Holly Nichols, Folkmar Hauff, Geoffrey A. Abers, Paul van den Bogaard, Ken Heydolph, Guillermo Alvarado, Marino Protti and Wilfried Strauch
Additional contact information
Kaj Hoernle: SFB 574,
David L. Abt: Brown University, Box 1846, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA
Karen M. Fischer: Brown University, Box 1846, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA
Holly Nichols: SFB 574,
Folkmar Hauff: Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences (IFM-GEOMAR), University of Kiel, Wischhofstrasse 1-3, Kiel 24148, Germany
Geoffrey A. Abers: Boston University, 675 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA
Paul van den Bogaard: SFB 574,
Ken Heydolph: SFB 574,
Guillermo Alvarado: Observatorio Sismológico y Vulcanológico de Arenal y Miravalles (OSIVAM), Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE)
Marino Protti: Observatorio Vulcanológico y Sismológico de Costa Rica, Universidad Nacional, Apdo. 86-3000, Heredia, Costa Rica
Wilfried Strauch: Instituto Nicaragüense de Estudios Territoriales, Apdo. 2110, Managua, Nicaragua

Nature, 2008, vol. 451, issue 7182, 1094-1097

Abstract: Abstract Resolving flow geometry in the mantle wedge is central to understanding the thermal and chemical structure of subduction zones, subducting plate dehydration, and melting that leads to arc volcanism, which can threaten large populations and alter climate through gas and particle emission. Here we show that isotope geochemistry and seismic velocity anisotropy provide strong evidence for trench-parallel flow in the mantle wedge beneath Costa Rica and Nicaragua. This finding contradicts classical models, which predict trench-normal flow owing to the overlying wedge mantle being dragged downwards by the subducting plate. The isotopic signature of central Costa Rican volcanic rocks is not consistent with its derivation from the mantle wedge1,2,3 or eroded fore-arc complexes4 but instead from seamounts of the Galapagos hotspot track on the subducting Cocos plate. This isotopic signature decreases continuously from central Costa Rica to northwestern Nicaragua. As the age of the isotopic signature beneath Costa Rica can be constrained and its transport distance is known, minimum northwestward flow rates can be estimated (63–190 mm yr-1) and are comparable to the magnitude of subducting Cocos plate motion (∼85 mm yr-1). Trench-parallel flow needs to be taken into account in models evaluating thermal and chemical structure and melt generation in subduction zones.

Date: 2008
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DOI: 10.1038/nature06550

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