Aseismic deep subduction of the Philippine Sea plate and slab window

We have made great efforts to collect and combine a large number of high-quality data from local earthquakes and teleseismic events recorded by the dense seismic networks in both South Korea and West Japan. This is the first time that a large number of Korean and Japanese seismic data sets are analyzed jointly. As a result, a high-resolution 3-D P-wave velocity model down to 700-km depth is determined, which clearly shows that the Philippine Sea (PHS) plate has subducted aseismically down to ∼460 km depth under the Japan Sea, Tsushima Strait and East China Sea. The aseismic PHS slab is visible in two areas: one is under the Japan Sea off western Honshu, and the other is under East China Sea off western Kyushu. However, the aseismic PHS slab is not visible between the two areas, where a slab window has formed. The slab window is located beneath the center of the present study region where many teleseismic rays crisscross. Detailed synthetic tests were conducted, which indicate that both the aseismic PHS slab and the slab window are robust features. Using the teleseismic data recorded by the Japanese stations alone, the aseismic PHS slab and the slab window were also revealed (Zhao et al., 2012), though the ray paths in the Japanese data set crisscross less well offshore. The slab window may be caused by the subducted Kyushu-Palau Ridge and Kinan Seamount Chain where the PHS slab may be segmented. Hot mantle upwelling is revealed in the big mantle wedge above the Pacific slab under the present study region, which may have facilitated the formation of the PHS slab window. These novel findings may shed new light on the subduction history of the PHS plate and the dynamic evolution of the Japan subduction zone.     

Tomographic evidence for a slab tear induced by fossil ridge subduction at Manila Trench,South China Sea

A tomographic travel-time inversion has been applied to trace the subducted slab of the South China Sea (SCS) beneath the Manila Trench. The dataset, taken from the International Seismological Centre (1960–2008), is composed of 13,087 P-wave arrival times from 1401 regional earthquakes and 8834 from 1350 teleseismic events. The results image the different morphology of the subducted SCS slab as a high-velocity zone. The subducting angle of the slab varies along the trench: at 16° N and 16.5° N, the slab dips at a low angle (24° ~ 32°) for 20–250 km depth and at a moderate angle (50°) for ~250–400 km depth. At 17° N, the slab dips at a low angle (32°) to near 400 km depth, and at 17.5° N and 18° N the slabs are near vertical from 70 ~ 700 km depth, while at 20° N the high-velocity anomalies exhibit features from horizontal abruptly to near vertical, extending to 500 km depth. The dramatic steepening of the slab between 17° N and 17.5° N may indicate a slab tear, which is coincident with the axis of a fossil ridge within the SCS slab at around 17° N. In addition, low-velocity zones in the three profiles above 300 km depth may represent the formation of the slab window, induced by ridge subduction and slab tear, initiating upward mantle flow and resulting in the partial melting of the edge of the slab. The slab tear could explain the volcanic gap and geochemical difference between the extinct Miocene and Quaternary volcanoes in the Luzon Arc, the much higher heat flow around the fossil ridge, and the distribution of most of the adakites and the related porphyry Cu-Au deposits in the Luzon area. Based on the geometry and morphology of the subducted slab and certain assumptions, we calculate the initial time of ridge subduction, which implies that ridge subduction and slab tear possibly started at ~8 Ma.     

Early Palaeozoic North Qaidam UHP metamorphic belt on the north-eastern Tibetan plateau and a paired subduction model

ABSTRACT An Early Palaeozoic UHP metamorphic belt was recently discovered in the North Qaidam Mountains in the north-eastern part of the Tibet Plateau. The belt contains abundant eclogite with lesser amounts of garnet peridotite and gneiss. The paragneiss contains abundant zircon with coesite inclusions whereas the eclogite has garnet with coesite pseudomorphs and omphacite with exsolved quartz. The calculated peak metamorphic conditions for the eclogite are T  = 730 °C and P  = 2.8 GPa. The garnet peridotites are magnesium-rich with Mg#s [100 × Mg/(Mg + Fe)] up to 92. Olivine in the peridotites is highly magnesian (Fo > 91.5) and TiO₂-poor and is typical of low- T garnet peridotites. Calculated peak metamorphic conditions for the peridotites are T  = 837 °C and P  = 2.5 GPa. U–Pb and Sm–Nd isotope dating indicate that continental subduction started during the early Ordovician (∼ 495 Ma). The North Qaidam UHP, together with the North Qilian HP belt about 300 km to the north, constitute a pair of genetically related early Palaeozoic subduction zones along the northern margin of the Tibet Plateau.     

Thermoelasticity and stability of natural epidote at high pressure and high temperature:Implications for water transport during cold slab subduction

Epidote is a typical hydrous mineral in subduction zones.Here,we report a synchrotron-based single-crystal X-ray diffraction(XRD)study of natural epidote[Ca1.97Al2.15Fe0.84(SiO4)(Si2O7)O(OH)]under simultaneously high pressure-temperature(high P-T)conditions to~17.7 GPa and 700 K.No phase transition occurs over this P-T range.Using the third-order Birch-Murnaghan equation of state(EoS),we fitted the pressure-volume-temperature(P-V-T)data and obtained the zero-pressure bulk modulus K₀=138(2)GPa,its pressure derivative K'₀=3.0(3),the temperature derivative of the bulk modulus((?K/?T)P=-0.004(1)GPa/K),and the thermal expansion coefficient at 300 K(α₀=3.8(5)×10^-5K^-1),as the zero-pressure unit-cell volume V₀was fixed at 465.2(2)?³(obtained by a single-crystal XRD experiment at ambient conditions).This study reveals that the bulk moduli of epidote show nonlinear compositional dependence.By discussing the stabilization of epidote and comparing its density with those of other hydrous minerals,we find that epidote,as a significant water transporter in subduction zones,may maintain a metastable state to~14 GPa along the coldest subducting slab geotherm and promote slab subduction into the upper mantle while favoring slab stagnation above the 410 km discontinuity.Furthermore,the water released from epidote near 410 km may potentially affect the properties of the 410 km seismic discontinuity.     

The Othris Ophiolite, Greece: A snapshot of subduction initiation at a mid-ocean ridge

The mantle section of the Tethyan-type Othris Ophiolite, Greece, records tectono-magmatic processes characteristic of both mid-ocean ridges and supra-subduction zones. The Othris Ophiolite is a remnant of the Jurassic Neotethys Ocean, which existed between Eurasia and Gondwanaland. Othris peridotites range from fertile plagioclase lherzolites to depleted harzburgites. Abundances of Al₂O₃ and CaO show well-defined inverse linear correlations with MgO, suggesting that the Othris peridotites formed as residua from variable degrees of partial melting.

Peridotites from the Fournos Kaïtsa and western Katáchloron sub-massifs are similar to abyssal peridotites and can be explained by a multistage model with some melting in the garnet stability field followed by moderate degrees of anhydrous near-fractional melting in the spinel stability field. In contrast, the peridotites from the Metalleio, Eretria, and eastern Katáchloron sub-massifs, and the Vourinos ophiolite are highly depleted and have extremely low concentrations of Al₂O₃ and heavy rare earth elements. These peridotites have enriched light REE contents compared to the middle REE. These residua are best modelled by hydrous melting due to a flux of slab-derived fluid to the mantle wedge during melting.

The occurrence of both styles of melting regimes within close spatial and temporal association in the same ophiolite is explained by intra-oceanic thrusting and forced subduction initiation at (or near) a mid-ocean ridge. Thus, the Othris Ophiolite, and probably Tethyan-type ophiolites in general, represent a transient phase of plate tectonic reorganisation rather than quasi-steady state plate tectonics.     

Paleoproterozoic supercontinent: Origin and evolution of accretionary and collisional orogens exemplified in Northern cratons

The evolution of the North American, East European, and Siberian cratons is considered. The Paleoproterozoic juvenile associations concentrate largely within mobile belts of two types: (1) volcanic-sedimentary and volcanic-plutonic belts composed of low-grade metamorphic rocks of greenschist to low-temperature amphibolite facies and (2) granulite-gneiss belts with a predominance of high-grade metamorphic rocks of high-temperature amphibolite to ultrahigh-temperature granulite facies. The first kind of mobile belt includes paleosutures made up of not only oceanic and island-arc rock associations formed in the process of evolution of relatively short-lived oceans of the Red Sea type but also peripheral accretionary orogens consisting of oceanic, island-arc, and backarc terranes accreted to continental margins. The formation of the second kind of mobile belt was related to the activity of plumes expressed in vigorous heating of the continental crust; intraplate magmatism; formation of rift depressions filled with sediments, juvenile lavas, and deposits of pyroclastic flows; and metamorphism of lower and middle crustal complexes under conditions of granulite and high-temperature amphibolite facies that, in addition, spreads over the fill of rift depressions. The evolution of mobile belts pertaining to both types ended with thrusting in a collisional setting. Five periods are recognized in Paleoproterozoic history: (1) origin and development of a superplume in the mantle that underlay the Neoarchean supercontinent; this process resulted in separation and displacement of the Fennoscandian fragment of the supercontinent (2.51–2.44 Ga); (2) a period of relatively quiet intraplate evolution complicated by locally developed plume-and plate-tectonic processes (2.44–2.0 (2.11) Ga); (3) the origin of a new superplume in the subcontinental mantle (2.0–1.95 Ga); (4) the complex combination of intense global plume-and plate-tectonic processes that led to the partial breakup of the supercontinent, its subsequent renascence and the accompanying formation of collisional orogens in the inner domains of the renewed Paleoproterozoic supercontinent, and the emergence of accretionary orogens along some of its margins (1.95–1.75 (1.71) Ga); and (5) postorogenic and anorogenic magmatism and metamorphism (<1.75 Ga).     

Origin of Early Cretaceous Guandian adakitic pluton in central eastern China: partial melting of delaminated lower continental crust triggered by ridge subduction

ABSTRACT

Early Cretaceous adakite or adakitic plutons are widely distributed in central eastern China, e.g. lower Yangtze river belt (LYRB), the south Tan–Lu fault (STLF), and the Dabie orogen. Their genesis, however, remains controversial. In this contribution, we present detailed geochemical and geochronological study on the Guandian pluton in central Anhui Province, eastern China, which has been formerly regarded as a part of the north belt in the LYRB and lately classified in the STLF. Namely, it is located near the boundary between ridge subduction related slab melting and partial melting of lower continental crust (LCC). The Guandian pluton consists of quartz monzonite and is metaluminous and high-K calc-alkaline according to the chemical composition. The samples show high SiO₂ (59.15–62.32%), Al₂O₃ (14.51–15.39%), Sr (892–1184 ppm), Sr/Y (56.74–86.32), and low Y (12.65–18.05 ppm), similar to typical geochemical features of adakite. The Guandian adakitic rocks also exhibit high K₂O (2.88–3.86%), MgO (3.89–5.24%), and Mg# (55–60), negative anomalies of high field strength elements (e.g. Nb, Ta, and Ti), and positive anomalies of Ba, Pb, and Sr. LA-ICP-MS zircon U–Pb dating yielded a weighted average age of 129.2 ± 0.7 Ma. Calculations of zircon Ce⁴⁺/Ce³⁺ (6.97–145) and (Eu/Eu*)_N (0.23–0.42) on the basis of in situ zircon trace element analysis indicate that the magma had a lower oxygen fugacity relative to the ore-bearing adakites in the LYRB and Dexing, which is consistent with the fact of ore-barren in the research area. In combination with previous research, we propose that Guandian adakitic pluton was formed by partial melting of delaminated LCC triggered by Early Cretaceous ridge subduction of the Pacific and Izanagi plates. During ridge subduction, physical erosion destructed the thickened LCC and resulted in delamination, while thermal erosion facilitated partial melting of the delaminated LCC.     

Focused subaerial erosion during ridge subduction: impact on the geomorphology in south‐central Peru

Data obtained from low‐temperature thermochronometers such as apatite fission‐track and (U‐Th)/He are combined with morphometric information extracted from digital elevation models. This combination shows several geomorphological effects that are caused by the migration of the Nazca Ridge along the Peruvian Coastal margin. Offshore, the depth of the deep‐sea trench decreases by ～1500 m where the Nazca Ridge collides with the continental South American Plate. Onshore the ridge causes an uplift of at least 800 m in the Coastal Cordillera. This uplift results in a westward shift of the coastline thereby focusing and increasing erosion in the uplifted areas. At the trailing edge, the shelf subsides and the coastline retreats eastwards, producing at least part of the indentation observed between Paita and Pisco. The Ridge acts therefore like a wave uplifting the Andean margin as it traverses inland and southwards leaving a clear fingerprint on the topographic evolution of the Peruvian coastal margin.     

San Quintín volcanic field, Baja California, Mexico: 'within-plate' magmatism following ridge subduction

The Holocene San Quintín volcanic province in northern Baja California comprises spinel-lherzolite-bearing alkali basalts. Trace element (La/Nb = 0.57–0.73; K/Rb = 402–479; La_N/Yb_N= 8.4, 9.9) and isotopic ratios (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶r = 0.70323–0.70352; ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd = 0.512924–0.512996; ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 19.108, 19.250; ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 15.567, 15.589; ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 38.82, 38.85) show that the lavas are compositionally indistinguishable from some ocean island, plume-associated basalts such as Hawaii and the Azores, and testify to an asthenospheric source for the magmas. The occurrence in Baja of such lavas may be related to the nature of the cessation of plate subduction beneath the peninsula; at present, San Quintín (and volcanic provinces to the north) are underlain by a 'no-slab window', whereas immediately to the south, remanent oceanic lithosphere may be preserved as a relict slab. This may act as a bamer to the upward passage of diapirs or magmas from the asthenosphere.     

Metamorphic imprint of accretion and ridge subduction in the Pan‐African Damara Belt,Namibia

Ridge subduction is an inescapable plate tectonic process, but has only been documented in modern circum‐Pacific environments and not yet been recognized from suture zones associated with supercontinent assembly, likely because its imprint is obliterated by later collision. The formation of the Pan‐African Damara Belt of central Namibia involved northward subduction of the Khomas Sea underneath the Congo Craton, prior to final suturing of the Congo and Kalahari Cratons. The accretionary history of the Belt is preserved in the Southern and Southern Marginal Zones, which consist of turbiditic metasedimentary and intercalcated mafic rocks with MORB affinity. Two localities in the Kuiseb and Gaub canyons reveal that aluminous metapelites contain a fabric‐defining assemblage of fine‐grained muscovite, chlorite, biotite, quartz and graphite that is overprinted by randomly oriented porphyroblasts and poikiloblasts of garnet, staurolite, kyanite and biotite. Associated metamafic rocks consist of hornblende, chlorite, epidote, rutile and quartz, with actinolite cores preserved in amphibole porphyroblasts. Metamorphic conditions for the fabric‐defining assemblage are estimated at ～10 kbar and 540–560 C, whereas peak metamorphism likely occurred at 10–10.5 kbar and 600 C. Consequently, these rocks preserve a two‐stage prograde metamorphic history, where initial tectonic burial was followed by relatively rapid, near‐isobaric heating without attendant deformation to peak metamorphic conditions. We propose that initial burial occurred through subduction and underplating to the accretionary prism, before ridge subduction and opening of a slab window heated the rocks to peak metamorphic conditions. The exceptional preservation of the tectono‐thermal imprint of the accretionary orogenic stage is due to the relatively soft, largely aborted collision that characterized the Damara orogeny, which can be attributed to the confined extent of the Khomas Sea.     

Evolutionary cycles during the Andean orogeny: repeated slab breakoff and flat subduction?

Tectonomagmatic similarities between the modern Chilean flat-slab region and pre-Neogene magmatic episodes suggest that they represent analogues to flat subduction. Evolutionary patterns in each magmatic suite include (i) increasing La/Yb ratios and Sr-and Nd-isotopic enrichment through time, (ii) eastward-migration of magmatism after periods of transpressional/transtensional intra-arc deformation, and (iii) subsequent termination and virtual absence of main-arc activity for 5–10 Myr. These patterns may reflect slab shallowing followed by flat subduction and thickening of the overlying crust. If repeated, they require interchanging episodes of slab steepening. Increasing convergence rates force slab kinking and eventual failure of the oversteepened slab, followed by rebound of the slab tip (owing to lack of further slab pull), flat subduction and termination of subduction-related magmatism. Rapid subduction leads to shallow overriding of the detached slab fragment. Eclogitization of the gradually steepening slab tip at depth and subsequent slab pull permits asthenospheric corner flow and subduction-related magmatism.     

黄岩海山链俯冲与吕宋岛斑岩铜金成矿

菲律宾吕宋岛上约5Ma以来的斑岩铜金矿床主要集中在北部的Baguio和Mankayan地区,它们在时空上与黄岩海山链密切相关。1907~2013年间的地震数据表明,在吕宋岛中部(16°N)附近存在地震稀疏带。吕宋岛上的斑岩铜金矿床分布在该地震稀疏带的两侧。收集到的相应时期埃达克岩的Sr/Y-(La/Yb)N、Sr/Y-Y和La/Yb-Yb图解表明,这些埃达克岩几乎都是洋壳部分熔融形成的。与吕宋岛北部侵入型埃达克岩相比,位于16°N附近的埃达克岩具有更高的Sr含量,这可能与南海古扩张脊俯冲撕裂形成的板片窗有关。斜长石是辉长岩的主要矿物之一,因此,撕裂的洋壳边缘的辉长岩层部分熔融,形成具有更高Sr含量的埃达克质岩浆。而位于吕宋岛南部Bataan弧中的埃达克质火山岩,可能是在南海古扩张脊俯冲之前形成的。根据已发表的斑岩铜金矿床数据,Mankayan地区的成矿年龄在约3.5~1.4Ma,Baguio地区的成矿年龄在约3.1~0.5Ma之间,有从北向南变年轻的趋势,这与黄岩海山链沿马尼拉海沟向南迁移一致。此外,吕宋岛北部Mt.Cagua到Baguio之间存在一个延伸了220km的第四纪火山活动的空隙,该区域大部分火山已经在中新世停止活动。这可能是黄岩海山链的俯冲使得俯冲倾角逐渐变缓、挤压加强而导致的。同时期的斑岩铜矿床正好分布在这一火山空隙中,是俯冲洋壳部分熔融的产物。     

Variations of slab dip and overriding plate tectonics during subduction: Insights from analogue modelling

We present small-scale laboratory models of oceanic subduction in which plates motion is imposed by lateral boundary conditions. The oceanic plate moves trenchward at constant speed and subducts below a fixed overriding plate. In this configuration, the long-term process of subduction is not steady-state. Slab interaction with the upper mantle-lower mantle boundary results in periods of slab flattening during which the dip of the slab diminishes, followed by periods of slab steepening. The overriding plate tectonic regime is influenced by the dynamics of subduction, slab anchoring favouring trench perpendicular shortening. When the slab is anchored, slab flattening further favours shortening, while slab steepening favours extension or smaller shortening rates. Non-steady-state long-term subduction may explain part of the variability of slab geometries evidenced by statistical analyses of present-day subduction zones. Experiments suggest that, despite boundary conditions applied on the converging plates do not change, tectonics pulses within the overriding plate may be caused by this non-steady-state behaviour.     

Spatiotemporal variations of Jurassic–Cretaceous magmatism in eastern Asia (Tan‐Lu Fault to SW Japan): evidence for flat‐slab subduction and slab rollback

Here, we examine spatiotemporal variations of Jurassic–Cretaceous magmatism along a c. 1000‐km transect across eastern Asia, including SW Japan, the Korean, Jiaodong and Liaodong peninsulas, and eastern Jilin Province. Integration of tectonic regime data with age data from igneous rocks in eastern Asia (from the Tan‐Lu Fault to SW Japan) suggests a shallowing of the subduction angle and subsequent flat‐slab subduction during the Jurassic, and slab rollback during the Early Cretaceous. The combination of a subducting plateau and root‐enhanced suction provides the best explanation for the flat‐slab subduction. In the final stage (Albian) of slab rollback, the geotectonic setting changed from subduction–accretion to a continental arc in the area close to the ancient trench (i.e. the Inner Zone of SW Japan).     

大陆板片多重性俯冲与折返的动力学模式——苏鲁高压-超高压变质地体的折返年龄限定

苏鲁高压超高压变质地体自南而北由高压(HP)、很高压(VHP)和超高压(UHP)变质叠覆岩片组成,前者依次叠覆在后者之上,岩片之间的界限为韧性剪切带。根据超高压变质岩片中角闪岩相岩石与高压变质岩片中绿片岩相岩石的黑云母和白云母Ar_Ar和Rb_Sr测年新结果,结合前人在该区所做的锆石SHRI MP U_Pb、全岩Sm_Nd、Rb_Sr等测年数据综合分析表明,超高压变质岩石的峰期变质年龄为240~220Ma,折返年龄为220~200Ma;而高压变质岩石的峰期变质年龄大于258Ma,起始折返年龄为258~240Ma,折返年龄比超高压变质岩石早30~40Ma。这说明扬子板片并不是整体俯冲和折返的。由于具组分和密度差异,俯冲板块的不同部位沿岩性或构造界面先后分片俯冲和折返,在北苏鲁超高压变质板片开始俯冲时,南苏鲁高压变质板片已开始折返。     

Deep slab subduction and dehydration and their geodynamic consequences: Evidence from seismology and mineral physics

We present new pieces of evidence from seismology and mineral physics for the existence of low-velocity zones in the deep part of the upper mantle wedge and the mantle transition zone that are caused by fluids from the deep subduction and deep dehydration of the Pacific and Philippine Sea slabs under western Pacific and East Asia. The Pacific slab is subducting beneath the Japan Islands and Japan Sea with intermediate-depth and deep earthquakes down to 600 km depth under the East Asia margin, and the slab becomes stagnant in the mantle transition zone under East China. The western edge of the stagnant Pacific slab is roughly coincident with the NE–SW Daxing'Anling-Taihangshan gravity lineament located west of Beijing, approximately 2000 km away from the Japan Trench. The upper mantle above the stagnant slab under East Asia forms a big mantle wedge (BMW). Corner flow in the BMW and deep slab dehydration may have caused asthenospheric upwelling, lithospheric thinning, continental rift systems, and intraplate volcanism in Northeast Asia. The Philippine Sea slab has subducted down to the mantle transition zone depth under Western Japan and Ryukyu back-arc, though the seismicity within the slab occurs only down to 200–300 km depths. Combining with the corner flow in the mantle wedge, deep dehydration of the subducting Pacific slab has affected the morphology of the subducting Philippine Sea slab and its seismicity under Southwest Japan. Slow anomalies are also found in the mantle under the subducting Pacific slab, which may represent small mantle plumes, or hot upwelling associated with the deep slab subduction. Slab dehydration may also take place after a continental plate subducts into the mantle.     

新疆东准噶尔克拉麦里蛇绿岩地球化学：洋脊俯冲的产物

新疆东准噶尔克拉麦里蛇绿岩中的镁铁质岩兼具有洋中脊玄武岩(MORB)和岛弧拉斑玄武岩(IAB)的特征,岩石地球化学特征表现为轻稀土(LREE)亏损、平坦或略微富集,不同程度地亏损高场强元素(HFSE)而富集大离子亲石元素(LILE),成分上非常相似于受洋脊俯冲影响的 Chile Ridge 和 Cocos Ridge 玄武岩。可以认为其可能形成于受洋脊俯冲影响的岛弧或弧前扩张环境。相对较高的ε_(Nd)(t)(7.2～9.8)、低 Nb/Zr、Ta/Yb 比值,说明在洋脊俯冲的影响下,其源区可能存在有至少三种组分:弧下地幔、来自消减板片流体和俯冲沉积物、MORB 地幔。     

Deep slab subduction and dehydration and their geodynamic consequences: Evidence from seismology and mineral physics

We present new pieces of evidence from seismology and mineral physics for the existence of low-velocity zones in the deep part of the upper mantle wedge and the mantle transition zone that are caused by fluids from the deep subduction and deep dehydration of the Pacific and Philippine Sea slabs under western Pacific and East Asia. The Pacific slab is subducting beneath the Japan Islands and Japan Sea with intermediate-depth and deep earthquakes down to 600 km depth under the East Asia margin, and the slab becomes stagnant in the mantle transition zone under East China. The western edge of the stagnant Pacific slab is roughly coincident with the NE–SW Daxing'Anling-Taihangshan gravity lineament located west of Beijing, approximately 2000 km away from the Japan Trench. The upper mantle above the stagnant slab under East Asia forms a big mantle wedge (BMW). Corner flow in the BMW and deep slab dehydration may have caused asthenospheric upwelling, lithospheric thinning, continental rift systems, and intraplate volcanism in Northeast Asia. The Philippine Sea slab has subducted down to the mantle transition zone depth under Western Japan and Ryukyu back-arc, though the seismicity within the slab occurs only down to 200–300 km depths. Combining with the corner flow in the mantle wedge, deep dehydration of the subducting Pacific slab has affected the morphology of the subducting Philippine Sea slab and its seismicity under Southwest Japan. Slow anomalies are also found in the mantle under the subducting Pacific slab, which may represent small mantle plumes, or hot upwelling associated with the deep slab subduction. Slab dehydration may also take place after a continental plate subducts into the mantle.     

Diamond in metasedimentary crustal rocks from Pohorje,Eastern Alps: a window to deep continental subduction

We report the first finding of diamond and moissanite in metasedimentary crustal rocks of Pohorje Mountains (Slovenia) in the Austroalpine ultrahigh‐pressure (UHP) metamorphic terrane of the Eastern Alps. Microscopic observations and Raman spectroscopy show that diamond occurs in situ as inclusions in garnet, being heterogeneously distributed. Under the optical microscope, diamond‐bearing inclusions are of cuboidal to rounded shape and of pinkish, yellow to brownish colour. The Raman spectra of the investigated diamond show a sharp, first order peak of sp³‐bonded carbon, in most cases centred between 1332 and 1330 cm^?1, with a full width at half maximum between 3 and 5 cm^?1. Several spectra show Raman bands typical for disordered graphitic (sp²‐bonded) carbon. Detailed observations show that diamond occurs either as a monomineralic, single‐crystal inclusion or it is associated with SiC (moissanite), CO₂ and CH₄ in polyphase inclusions_. This rare record of diamond occurring with moissanite as fluid‐inclusion daughter minerals implies the crystallization of diamond and moissanite from a supercritical fluid at reducing conditions. Thermodynamic modelling suggests that diamond‐bearing gneisses attained P–T conditions of ≥3.5 GPa and 800–850 °C, similar to eclogites and garnet peridotites. We argue that diamond formed when carbonaceous sediment underwent UHP metamorphism at mantle depth exceeding 100 km during continental subduction in the Late Cretaceous (c. 95–92 Ma). The finding of diamond confirms UHP metamorphism in the Pohorje Mountains, the most deeply subducted part of Austroalpine units.