An Overview of the Izu-Bonin-Mariana Subduction Factory Robert J. Stern Geosciences Department University of Texas at Dallas Box 830688 Richardson TX 75083-0688
[email protected] Matthew J. Fouch* Carnegie Institution of Washington Department of Terrestrial Magnetism 5241 Broad Branch Road, NW Washington, DC 20015 Simon L. Klemperer Department of Geophysics Stanford University Stanford CA 94305-2215.
[email protected] * now at: Department of Geological Sciences Arizona State University P.O. Box 871404 Tempe, AZ 85287-1404
[email protected] Submitted 10/00, Revised 9/01 ABSTRACT The Izu-Bonin-Mariana (IBM) arc system extends 2800km from near Tokyo, Japan to Guam and is an outstanding example of an intra-oceanic convergent margin (IOCM). Inputs from sub-arc crust are minimized at IOCMs and mantle-to-crust fluxes can be more confidently assessed than for arcs built on continental crust. The history of the IBM IOCM since subduction began about 43 Ma may be better understood than for any other convergent margin. IBM subducts the oldest seafloor on the planet and is under strong extension. The stratigraphy of the western Pacific plate being subducted beneath IBM varies simply parallel to the arc, with abundant off-ridge volcanics and volcaniclastics in the south that diminish to the north, and this seafloor is completely subducted. The Wadati-Benioff Zone varies simply along strike, from dipping gently and failing to penetrate the 660 km discontinuity in the north to plunging vertically in the south into the deep mantle. The northern IBM arc is about 22km thick, with a felsic middle crust; this middle crust is exposed in the collision zone at the northern end of the IBM IOCM.