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Recently, Pandey et al proposed relict subduction initiation occurred along a passive margin in the northwest Indian Ocean. Here, Clift et al question the evidence for subduction initiation, suggesting that simpler rifting-related processes can more simply explain the available data for the Laxmi Basin.
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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7264180 | PMC |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-16569-y | DOI Listing |
Sci Rep
September 2025
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, ETH Zürich, Zürich, 8092, Switzerland.
The occurrence of tectonic plate reorganization events is evident throughout the geologic record and appears to be associated with the cessation of mature and/or initiation of new subduction. Subduction initiation that produced the bend in the Hawaii-Emperor seamount chain resulted in the most recent upheaval of plate motion and engendered dramatic changes in plate velocities. Here, applying a method for identifying plate boundaries in a numerical global mantle convection model, we calculate Euler vector time series of self-consistently generated plates over a period of approximately 144 Myr.
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August 2025
Department of Structural and Geotechnical Engineering, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
While subduction zone hazard is dominated by the megathrust, intermediate-depth (70-300 km) earthquakes within the slab can likewise have catastrophic impacts. Their physics remains enigmatic, with suggested mechanisms including dehydration embrittlement and thermal runaway. Here, we investigate the 2024 Chile, M 7.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCommun Earth Environ
August 2025
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Institute of Geophysics, ETH Zürich, Sonneggstrasse 5, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland.
Subduction initiation is a pivotal process in the Wilson cycle, yet its mechanisms remain elusive. Using 3D coupled thermo-mechanical and surface processes models, we investigated how the duration of the plate motion reversal from rifting to plate convergence and the structural versus thermal inheritance influence the location of compression-induced subduction initiation. Our results reveal that abrupt plate motion changes lead to ridge inversion-driven subduction, controlled by the inherited thermal- and melt-induced weakening.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Adv
July 2025
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA.
Earth's oceans contain large numbers of cyclonic eddies, 10 to 25 kilometers in diameter and unresolved in climate simulations. However, we lack observations of these features due to their small size and fast evolution. Here, we present in situ observations of one such cyclonic eddy with intense chlorophyll at its center as it spontaneously splits into two smaller cyclonic eddies over a few days.
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July 2025
School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
The Queen Charlotte plate boundary (QCPB), a transform separating the Pacific and North American plates, accommodates ~55 millimeters per year of motion, is a source of large earthquakes in the northeast Pacific, and may be a modern site of subduction initiation. The southern QCPB experiences oblique convergence, showcased by the 1949 magnitude () 8.1 strike-slip earthquake and the 2012 7.
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