Melting above the anhydrous solidus controls the location of volcanic arcs

Philip C. England () and Richard F. Katz
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Philip C. England: Department of Earth Sciences
Richard F. Katz: Department of Earth Sciences

Nature, 2010, vol. 467, issue 7316, 700-703

Abstract: Volcanic arc formation Volcanic arcs, curved chains of volcanoes that develop in the overriding tectonic plate at subduction zones, are among the most significant tectonic features on Earth, yet the processes that control their formation are still not understood. Philip England and Richard Katz use a simple scaling argument derived from a mathematical model of heat transfer in subduction zones to argue that the common explanations for the location of the arcs (which are based on reactions occurring at or near the top of the slab) are incorrect. Instead, they conclude that the sharpness of the volcanic fronts, together with the systematics of their locations, require that arcs must be located above the place where the boundary defined by the anhydrous solidus makes its closest approach to the trench. They show that heat carried by magma rising from this region is sufficient to modify the thermal structure of the wedge and determine the pathway through which both wet and dry melts reach the surface.

Date: 2010
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DOI: 10.1038/nature09417

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