Low-velocity anomaly in the Coral Sea associated with subducting slabs and the Woodlark rift
Abstract Classical plume models offer insights into intraplate volcanism and seamount chain formation by assuming a cylindrical upwelling of hot materials from the core-mantle boundary. The interaction of mantle plumes with ridges or subducting slabs disrupts typical plate tectonics, leading to dist...
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| Format: | Article |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Communications Earth & Environment |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02166-8 |
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| author | Ji-hoon Park Sung-Joon Chang |
| author_facet | Ji-hoon Park Sung-Joon Chang |
| author_sort | Ji-hoon Park |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Classical plume models offer insights into intraplate volcanism and seamount chain formation by assuming a cylindrical upwelling of hot materials from the core-mantle boundary. The interaction of mantle plumes with ridges or subducting slabs disrupts typical plate tectonics, leading to distinctive tectonic phenomena such as ridge jumps or slab stagnation. However, thermal plume models sometimes fall short in explaining perplexing tectonic features, necessitating consideration of compositional heterogeneities within mantle plumes. Here, using multimode waveform tomography, we identify a large, vertically divergent low-velocity anomaly in the upper mantle beneath the Coral Sea in the southwestern Pacific, which circumvents the remnants of subducting slabs toward northeastern Australia with intraplate volcanism, and the Woodlark rift, the most rapidly extending continental rift. Our findings furnish seismic evidence for the widespread propagation of a thermochemical mantle plume spanning over 10° at depths of 270–410 km, facilitating its simultaneous contacts with slabs and rifts. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e495c5c9d48f44ffa12f0df076d7ff90 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2662-4435 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communications Earth & Environment |
| spelling | doaj-art-e495c5c9d48f44ffa12f0df076d7ff902025-08-20T01:57:48ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Earth & Environment2662-44352025-03-01611910.1038/s43247-025-02166-8Low-velocity anomaly in the Coral Sea associated with subducting slabs and the Woodlark riftJi-hoon Park0Sung-Joon Chang1Department of Geophysics, Kangwon National UniversityDepartment of Geophysics, Kangwon National UniversityAbstract Classical plume models offer insights into intraplate volcanism and seamount chain formation by assuming a cylindrical upwelling of hot materials from the core-mantle boundary. The interaction of mantle plumes with ridges or subducting slabs disrupts typical plate tectonics, leading to distinctive tectonic phenomena such as ridge jumps or slab stagnation. However, thermal plume models sometimes fall short in explaining perplexing tectonic features, necessitating consideration of compositional heterogeneities within mantle plumes. Here, using multimode waveform tomography, we identify a large, vertically divergent low-velocity anomaly in the upper mantle beneath the Coral Sea in the southwestern Pacific, which circumvents the remnants of subducting slabs toward northeastern Australia with intraplate volcanism, and the Woodlark rift, the most rapidly extending continental rift. Our findings furnish seismic evidence for the widespread propagation of a thermochemical mantle plume spanning over 10° at depths of 270–410 km, facilitating its simultaneous contacts with slabs and rifts.https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02166-8 |
| spellingShingle | Ji-hoon Park Sung-Joon Chang Low-velocity anomaly in the Coral Sea associated with subducting slabs and the Woodlark rift Communications Earth & Environment |
| title | Low-velocity anomaly in the Coral Sea associated with subducting slabs and the Woodlark rift |
| title_full | Low-velocity anomaly in the Coral Sea associated with subducting slabs and the Woodlark rift |
| title_fullStr | Low-velocity anomaly in the Coral Sea associated with subducting slabs and the Woodlark rift |
| title_full_unstemmed | Low-velocity anomaly in the Coral Sea associated with subducting slabs and the Woodlark rift |
| title_short | Low-velocity anomaly in the Coral Sea associated with subducting slabs and the Woodlark rift |
| title_sort | low velocity anomaly in the coral sea associated with subducting slabs and the woodlark rift |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02166-8 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jihoonpark lowvelocityanomalyinthecoralseaassociatedwithsubductingslabsandthewoodlarkrift AT sungjoonchang lowvelocityanomalyinthecoralseaassociatedwithsubductingslabsandthewoodlarkrift |