Abstract
Numerical experiments are used in this study to systematically investigate the effects of convergence rate, crustal rheological strength, and lithospheric thermal structure on the dynamics of continental collision. The study focuses on the types, conditions and processes of unstable continental subduction. Modelling results suggest that the development of unstable continental subduction can be promoted by conditions that tend to decrease rheological strength of the lithosphere, such as low crustal rheological strength, “hot” thermal structure of the lithosphere, or low convergence rate. Unstable subduction mode can be further categorized into three types: (1) multi-stage slab breakoff, (2) continuously “flowing” of fluid-like slab into the upper mantle, and (3) large-scale detachment of the thickened orogenic root. These three types of unstable continental subduction are respectively associated with (1) a low convergence rate, (2) “hot” thermal structure of the lithosphere with a high convergence rate, and (3) moderate-high crustal rheological strength with a low convergence rate. It is also revealed that the evolution of crustal melting is dominated by the deformation pattern of continental collision, which is mainly controlled by crustal rheological strength. The modelling results have important implications for understanding of continental subduction mode selection under specific geodynamic conditions.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Babeyko A Y, Sobolev S V. 2008. High-resolution numerical modeling of stress distribution in visco-elasto-plastic subducting slabs. Lithos, 103: 205–216
Bittner D, Schmeling H. 1995. Numerical modelling of melting processes and induced diapirism in the lower crust. Geophys J Int, 123: 59–70
Brace W F, Kohlstedt D L. 1980. Limits on lithospheric stress imposed by laboratory experiments. J Geophys Res, 85: 6248–6252
Burg J P, Gerya T V. 2005. The role of viscous heating in Barrovian metamorphism of collisional orogens: Thermomechanical models and application to the Lepontine Dome in the Central Alps. J Metamorph Geol, 23: 75–95
Burg J P, Podladchikov Y. 2000. From buckling to asymmetric folding of the continental lithosphere: Numerical modelling and application to the Himalayan syntaxes. Geol Soc London Spec Publ, 170: 219–236
Burov E B, Molnar P. 1998. Gravity anomalies over the Ferghana Valley (central Asia) and intracontinental deformation. J Geophys Res, 103: 18137–18152
Burov E, Francois T, Agard P, Le Pourhiet L, Meyer B, Tirel C, Lebedev S, Yamato P, Brun J P. 2014. Rheological and geodynamic controls on the mechanisms of subduction and HP/UHP exhumation of crustal rocks during continental collision: Insights from numerical models. Tectonophysics, 631: 212–250
Burov E, Francois T, Yamato P, Wolf S. 2012. Mechanisms of continental subduction and exhumation of HP and UHP rocks. Gondwana Res, 25: 464–493
Burov E, Yamato P. 2008. Continental plate collision, P-T-t-z conditions and unstable vs. stable plate dynamics: Insights from thermo-mechanical modelling. Lithos, 103: 178–204
Chen Y, Li W, Yuan X, Badal J, Teng J. 2015. Tearing of the Indian lithospheric slab beneath southern Tibet revealed by SKS-wave splitting measurements. Earth Planet Sci Lett, 413: 13–24
Chopin C. 2003. Ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism: Tracing continental crust into the mantle. Earth Planet Sci Lett, 212: 1–14
Clauser C, Huenges E. 1995. Thermal conductivity of rocks and minerals. AGU Ref Shelf, 3: 105–126
Cloetingh S A P L, Burov E, Matenco L, Toussaint G, Bertotti G, Andriessen P A M, Wortel M J R, Spakman W. 2004. Thermo-mechanical controls on the mode of continental collision in the SE Carpathians (Romania). Earth Planet Sci Lett, 218: 57–76
Cloeting S, Burov E, Poliakov A. 1999. Lithosphere folding: Primary response to compression? (from central Asia to Paris basin). Tectonics, 18: 1064–1083
Conrad C P, Molnar P. 1997. The growth of Rayleigh-Taylor-type instabilities in the lithosphere for various rheological and density structures. Geophys J Int, 129: 95–112
Faccenda M, Gerya T V, Chakraborty S. 2008. Styles of post-subduction collisional orogeny: Influence of convergence velocity, crustal rheology and radiogenic heat production. Lithos, 103: 257–287
Gerya T V, Yuen D A. 2003a. Characteristics-based marker-in-cell method with conservative finite-differences schemes for modeling geological flows with strongly variable transport properties. Phys Earth Planet Inter, 140: 293–318
Gerya T V, Yuen D A. 2003b. Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities from hydration and melting propel ‘cold plumes’ at subduction zones. Earth Planet Sci Lett, 212: 47–62
Gray R, Pysklywec R N. 2012. Geodynamic models of mature continental collision: Evolution of an orogen from lithospheric subduction to continental retreat/delamination. J Geophys Res, 117(B03408): 1–14
Green D H, Ringwood A E. 1967. An experimental investigation of the gabbro to eclogite transformation and its petrological applications. Geochim Cosmochim Acta, 31: 767–833
Guo A L, Zhang G W. 2010. Thermal weakening of lithosphere by heatproducing elements and intracontinental deformation (in Chinese). Earth Sci Front, 17: 374–381
Hermann J F. 2002. Experimental constraints on phase relations in subducted continental crust. Contrib Mineral Petrol, 143: 219–235
Hofmeister A M. 1999. Mantle values of thermal conductivity and the geotherm from phonon lifetimes. Science, 283: 1699–1706
Houseman G A, Molnar P. 1997. Gravitational (Rayleigh-Taylor) instability of a layer with non-linear viscosity and convective thinning of continental lithosphere. Geophys J Int, 128: 125–150
Ji S, Zhao P. 1993. Flow laws of multiphase rocks calculated from experimental data on the constituent phases. Earth Planet Sci Lett, 117: 181–187
Kirby S H, Kronenberg A K. 1987. Rheology of the lithosphere: Selected topics. Rev Geophys, 25: 1219–1244
Kirby S H. 1983. Rheology of the lithosphere. Rev Geophys, 21: 1458–1487
Lallemand S, Heuret A, Boutelier D. 2005. On the relationships between slab dip, back-arc stress, upper plate absolute motion, and crustal nature in subduction zones. Geochem Geophys Geosyst, 6(Q09006): 1–18
Lee T Y, Lawver L A. 1995. Cenozoic plate reconstruction of Southeast Asia. Tectonophysics, 251: 85–138
Li C, van der Hilst R D, Meltzer A S, Engdahl E R. 2008. Subduction of the Indian lithosphere beneath the Tibetan Plateau and Burma. Earth Planet Sci Lett, 274: 157–168
Li S G, He Y S, Wang S J. 2013. Process and mechanism of mountainroot removal of the Dabie Orogen: Constraints from geochronology and geochemistry of post-collisional igneous rocks. Chin Sci Bull, 2013, 58: 4411–4417
Li Z H, Gerya T V, Burg J P. 2010. Influence of tectonic overpressure on P-T paths of HP-UHP rocks in continental collision zones: Thermomechanical modelling. J Metamorph Geol, 28: 227–247
Li Z H, Liu M, Gerya T. 2016. Lithosphere delamination in continental collisional orogens: A systematic numerical study. J Geophys Res-Solid Earth, 121: 5186–5211
Li Z H, Xu Z Q, Gerya T V. 2011. Flat versus steep subduction: Contrasting modes for the formation and exhumation of high- to ultrahigh-pressure rocks in continental collision zones. Earth Planet Sci Lett, 301: 65–77
Li Z H. 2014. A review on the numerical geodynamic modeling of continental subduction, collision and exhumation. Sci China Earth Sci, 57: 47–69
Liou J G, Ernst W G, Zhang R Y, Tsujimori T, Jahn B M. 2009. Ultrahighpressure minerals and metamorphic terranes—The view from China. J Asian Earth Sci, 35: 199–231
Mo X X, Pan G T. 2006. From the Tethys to the formation of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau: Constrained by tectono-magmatic events (in Chinese). Earth Sci Front, 13: 043–051
Mo X X, Zhao Z D, Deng J F, Dong G C, Zhou S, Guo T Y, Zhang S Q, Wang L L. 2003. Response of volcanism to the India-Asia collision (in Chinese). Earth Sci Front, 10: 135–148
Nábelek J, Hetényi G, Vergne J, Sapkota S, Kafle B, Jiang M, Su H, Chen J, Huang B S, Huang B S. 2009. Underplating in the Himalaya-Tibet collision zone revealed by the Hi-CLIMB experiment. Science, 325: 1371–1374
Owens T J, Zandt G. 1997. Implications of crustal property variations for models of Tibetan Plateau evolution. Nature, 387: 37–43
Pan G T, Li X Z, Wang L Q, Ding J, Chen Z L. 2002. Preliminary division of tectonic units of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and its adjacent regions (in Chinese). Geol Bull China, 21: 701–707
Radulescu F. 1988. Seismic models of the crustal structure in Romania. Rev Roum Geol Geophys Geogr Ser Geophys, 32: 13–17
Ranalli G, Murphy D C. 1987. Rheological stratification of the lithosphere. Tectonophysics, 132: 281–295
Ranalli G. 1995. Rheology of the Earth. 2nd ed. London: Springer
Sengör A M C. 1999. Continental interiors and cratons: Any relation? Tectonophysics, 305: 1–42
Tilmann F, Ni J, Ni J. 2003. Seismic imaging of the downwelling Indian lithosphere beneath central Tibet. Science, 300: 1424–1427
Toussaint G, Burov E, Jolivet L. 2004. Continental plate collision: Unstable vs. stable slab dynamics. Geology, 32: 33–36
Turcotte D L, Schubert G. 2002. Geodynamics. 3rd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Ueda K, Gerya T, Sobolev S V. 2008. Subduction initiation by thermal- chemical plumes: Numerical studies. Phys Earth Planet Inter, 171: 296–312
Van der Voo R, Spakman W, Bijwaard H. 1999. Tethyan subducted slabs under India. Earth Planet Sci Lett, 171: 7–20
van Hinsbergen D J J, Steinberger B, Doubrovine P V, Gassmoller R. 2011. Acceleration and deceleration of India-Asia convergence since the Cretaceous: Roles of mantle plumes and continental collision. J Geophys Res, 116(B06101): 1–20
Wang H Z. 1997. Speculations on Earth’s rhythms and continental dynamics (in Chinese). Earth Sci Front, 4: 1–12
Wang Q, Zhang P Z, Freymueller J T, Bilham R, Larson K M, Lai X, You X, Niu Z, Wu J, Li Y, Liu J, Yang Z, Chen Q. 2001. Present-day crustal deformation in China constrained by global positioning system measurements. Science, 294: 574–577
Warren C J. 2013. Exhumation of (ultra-)high-pressure terranes: Concepts and mechanisms. Solid Earth, 4: 75–92
Wortel M J R, Spakman W. 2000. Subduction and slab detachment in the Mediterranean-Carpathian Region. Science, 290: 1910–1917
Wu F Y, Huang B C, Ye K, Fang A M. 2008. Collapsed Himalayan-Tibetan orogen and the rising Tibetan Plateau (in Chinese). Acta Petrol Sin, 24: 1–30
Wu F Y, Xu Y G, Zhu R X, Zhang G W. 2014. Thinning and destruction of the cratonic lithosphere: A global perspective. Sci China Earth Sci, 57: 2878–2890
Xu Z Q, Yang J S, Li H B, Ji S C, Zhang Z M, Liu Y. 2011. On the tectonics of the India-Asia collision (in Chinese). Acta Geol Sin, 85: 1–33
Yang X, Wang Y D, Liu X W, Zheng J J. 2012. Characteristic and dynamical mechanism of post-collision extensional basins (in Chinese). Geol Rev, 58: 444–450
Yin A, Harrison T M. 2000. Geologic evolution of the Himalayan-Tibetan Orogen. Annu Rev Earth Planet Sci, 28: 211–280
Zeng L S, Liu J, Saleeby J B. 2006. Root zone processes for the formation and evolution of a large-scale granitic batholith: Drip structures, potassic volcanism and Earth sur face processes (in Chinese). Geol Bull China, 25: 1257–1273
Zhang G W, Guo A L, Dong Y P, Yao A P. 2011. Continental geology, tectonics and dynamics (in Chinese). Earth Sci Front, 18: 001–012
Zhao J, Yuan X, Liu H, Kumar P, Pei S, Kind R, Zhang Z, Teng J, Ding L, Gao X, Xu Q, Wang W. 2010. The boundary between the Indian and Asian tectonic plates below Tibet. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 107: 11229–11233
Zheng Y F, Chen R X, Xu Z, Zhang S B. 2016. The transport of water in subduction zones. Sci China Earth Sci, 59: 651–682
Zheng Y F, Chen Y X, Dai L Q, Zhao Z F. 2015. Developing plate tectonics theory from oceanic subduction zones to collisional orogens. Sci China Earth Sci, 58: 1045–1069
Zheng Y F, Zhao Z F, Chen Y X. 2013. Continental subduction channel processes: Plate interface interaction during continental collision. Chin Sci Bull, 58: 4371–4377
Zheng Y F. 2012. Metamorphic chemical geodynamics in continental subduction zones. Chem Geol, 328: 5–48
Acknowledgements
We thank Zheng Yongfei and Guo Feng for helpful discussions. This study was supported by National Basic Research Program of China (Grant Nos. 2014CB440901, 2015CB856106 and 2016 YFC0600303), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41190073 and 41372198), the National “Qian-Ren” Program to Z. H. Li, the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities to Sun Yat-sen University, and the PetroChina Project (Grant No. 2016B-0501).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Huangfu, P., Wang, Y., Fan, W. et al. Dynamics of unstable continental subduction: Insights from numerical modeling. Sci. China Earth Sci. 60, 218–234 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-016-5014-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-016-5014-6