Juxtaposed slab dehydration, decarbonation and seismotectonic variation beneath the Philippine subduction zone based on 3-D modeling

Abstract Largescale volcanic eruptions and earthquakes are occurring frequently in the Philippines, and research has shown that slab metamorphism and diversity alter the impacts of subducted oceanic plates by changing water‒carbon productivity and interplate stability. Within the framework of the th...

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Main Authors: Ye Zhu, Yingfeng Ji, Weiling Zhu, Rui Qu, Haris Faheem, Chaodi Xie
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2024-11-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-76508-5
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author Ye Zhu
Yingfeng Ji
Weiling Zhu
Rui Qu
Haris Faheem
Chaodi Xie
author_facet Ye Zhu
Yingfeng Ji
Weiling Zhu
Rui Qu
Haris Faheem
Chaodi Xie
author_sort Ye Zhu
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Largescale volcanic eruptions and earthquakes are occurring frequently in the Philippines, and research has shown that slab metamorphism and diversity alter the impacts of subducted oceanic plates by changing water‒carbon productivity and interplate stability. Within the framework of the thermal evolution history of subducting slabs, the relationships between subduction zone seismicity characterized by both regular megathrust earthquakes and slow slip events of various magnitudes and long-term slab dehydration–decarbonation evolution in the Philippines remain poorly understood. Here, we constructed a comprehensive thermal model incorporating 3-D slab geometric data for the incoming plate and a 3-D subduction velocity field based on the MORVEL plate motion dataset for the Philippine subduction zone with high spatial and temporal resolutions. Our findings reveal that subduction seismicity and arc volcanism are prominent in belt-shaped regions with high thermal gradients (> 5 °C/km) and large-scale slab dehydration (> 0.05 wt%/km). Dehydration of serpentinite in ultramafic rocks in the subducting slab and decarbonation of carbonate minerals preferentially contribute to the generation and transport of fluids and carbonate melts, thus facilitating seismicity and carbon-rich magmatism. Our results suggest that slab geometry diversity-induced juxtaposed slab dehydration-decarbonation processes play a vital role in the generation of megathrust earthquakes below the forearc.
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spelling doaj-art-907d9e867cdd4e9eac049c97ebb533152024-11-10T12:21:11ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222024-11-0114111410.1038/s41598-024-76508-5Juxtaposed slab dehydration, decarbonation and seismotectonic variation beneath the Philippine subduction zone based on 3-D modelingYe Zhu0Yingfeng Ji1Weiling Zhu2Rui Qu3Haris Faheem4Chaodi Xie5State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Environment and Resources (TPESER), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of SciencesState Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Environment and Resources (TPESER), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of SciencesState Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Environment and Resources (TPESER), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of SciencesState Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Environment and Resources (TPESER), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of SciencesState Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Environment and Resources (TPESER), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of SciencesGeophysics Department, School of Earth Sciences, Yunnan UniversityAbstract Largescale volcanic eruptions and earthquakes are occurring frequently in the Philippines, and research has shown that slab metamorphism and diversity alter the impacts of subducted oceanic plates by changing water‒carbon productivity and interplate stability. Within the framework of the thermal evolution history of subducting slabs, the relationships between subduction zone seismicity characterized by both regular megathrust earthquakes and slow slip events of various magnitudes and long-term slab dehydration–decarbonation evolution in the Philippines remain poorly understood. Here, we constructed a comprehensive thermal model incorporating 3-D slab geometric data for the incoming plate and a 3-D subduction velocity field based on the MORVEL plate motion dataset for the Philippine subduction zone with high spatial and temporal resolutions. Our findings reveal that subduction seismicity and arc volcanism are prominent in belt-shaped regions with high thermal gradients (> 5 °C/km) and large-scale slab dehydration (> 0.05 wt%/km). Dehydration of serpentinite in ultramafic rocks in the subducting slab and decarbonation of carbonate minerals preferentially contribute to the generation and transport of fluids and carbonate melts, thus facilitating seismicity and carbon-rich magmatism. Our results suggest that slab geometry diversity-induced juxtaposed slab dehydration-decarbonation processes play a vital role in the generation of megathrust earthquakes below the forearc.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-76508-5Philippine forearcThermal modelDehydrationDecarbonationSeismicity
spellingShingle Ye Zhu
Yingfeng Ji
Weiling Zhu
Rui Qu
Haris Faheem
Chaodi Xie
Juxtaposed slab dehydration, decarbonation and seismotectonic variation beneath the Philippine subduction zone based on 3-D modeling
Scientific Reports
Philippine forearc
Thermal model
Dehydration
Decarbonation
Seismicity
title Juxtaposed slab dehydration, decarbonation and seismotectonic variation beneath the Philippine subduction zone based on 3-D modeling
title_full Juxtaposed slab dehydration, decarbonation and seismotectonic variation beneath the Philippine subduction zone based on 3-D modeling
title_fullStr Juxtaposed slab dehydration, decarbonation and seismotectonic variation beneath the Philippine subduction zone based on 3-D modeling
title_full_unstemmed Juxtaposed slab dehydration, decarbonation and seismotectonic variation beneath the Philippine subduction zone based on 3-D modeling
title_short Juxtaposed slab dehydration, decarbonation and seismotectonic variation beneath the Philippine subduction zone based on 3-D modeling
title_sort juxtaposed slab dehydration decarbonation and seismotectonic variation beneath the philippine subduction zone based on 3 d modeling
topic Philippine forearc
Thermal model
Dehydration
Decarbonation
Seismicity
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-76508-5
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