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Updated: Jun 22, 2026

Mechanoluminescent Visualization of Crack Propagation for Joint Evaluation
Published on: January 6, 2023
Tearing of stagnant slab
Masayuki Obayashi1, Junko Yoshimitsu, Yoshio Fukao
1Institute for Research on Earth Evolution, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 2-15 Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka 237-0061, Japan. obayashi@jamstec.go.jp
Abstract:
Subducted slabs of oceanic lithosphere below the western Pacific tend to be stagnant in the transition zone with poorly known mechanical properties. Typical examples are the Izu-Bonin and Japan slabs that meet each other to form a cusplike junction beneath southwest Japan. Here, we show that these two slabs are torn apart at their junction when they bend to flatten over the 660-kilometer discontinuity, as is expected from a simple geometric argument. We present three lines of evidence for this ongoing slab tear.
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