Plate coupling across the northern Manila subduction zone deduced from mantle lithosphere buoyancy
Journal
Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors
Journal Volume
273
Pages
50-54
Date Issued
2017
Author(s)
Lo C.-L.; Doo W.-B.; Kuo-Chen H.; Hsu S.-K.
Abstract
The Manila subduction zone is located at the plate boundary where the Philippine Sea plate (PSP) moves northwestward toward the Eurasian plate (EU) with a high convergence rate. However, historically, no large earthquakes greater than Mw7 have been observed across the northern Manila subduction zone. The poorly understood plate interaction between these two plates in this region creates significant issues for evaluating the seismic hazard. Therefore, the variation of mantle lithospheric buoyancy is calculated to evaluate the plate coupling status across the northern Manila subduction zone, based on recently published forward gravity modeling constrained by the results of the P-wave seismic crustal structure of the TAIGER (Taiwan Integrated Geodynamic Research) project. The results indicate weak plate coupling between the PSP and EU, which could be related to the release of the overriding PSP from the descending EU's dragging force, which was deduced from the higher elevation of the Luzon arc and the fore-arc basin northward toward the Taiwan orogen. Moreover, serpentinized peridotite is present above the plate boundary and is distributed more widely and thickly closer to offshore southern Taiwan orogen. We suggest that low plate coupling may facilitate the uplifting of serpentinized mantle material up to the plate boundary. © 2017 Elsevier B.V.
Subjects
Buoyancy; Seismic waves; Seismology; Structural geology; Tectonics; Convergence rates; Crustal structure; Large earthquakes; Mantle lithosphere; Serpentinization; Serpentinized peridotites; Subduction zones; Taiwan; Plates (structural components); buoyancy; Eurasian plate; lithospheric structure; mantle structure; orogeny; Philippine Sea plate; plate boundary; serpentinization; subduction zone; uplift; Taiwan
SDGs
Publisher
Elsevier B.V.
Type
journal article