PCIGR research supports new theory on how Earth’s subduction zones formed

August 15, 2018

A new study, co-authored by PCIGR researcher Matthijs Smit and published this week in Nature Geoscience, investigates a fossil system, the archetypal Semail Ophiolite of Oman, which exposes both lower and upper plate relics of incipient subduction stages.

Pressure–temperature–time evolution of the Semail metamorphic sole. [Fig. 6 of Guilmette et al., 2018]
Pressure–temperature–time evolution of the Semail metamorphic sole. [Fig. 6 of Guilmette et al., 2018]

Lu-Hf and U-Pb geochronology of the lower and upper plate material indicate that initial burial of the lower plate occurred before 104 million years ago, predating upper plate extension and the formation of Semail oceanic crust by at least 8 Myr. Such a time lag reveals far-field forced subduction initiation and provides unequivocal, direct evidence for a subduction initiation mechanism in the geological record.

The full research article is available here.

UBC Science story: New theory on how Earth’s subduction zones formed

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