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Published on: October 17, 2011
Slab morphology and deformation beneath Izu-Bonin
Haijiang Zhang1,2, Fan Wang3,4, Robert Myhill5
1School of Earth and Space Sciences; Laboratory of Seismology and Physics of Earth's Interior, University of Science and Technology of China, 96 Jinzhai Road, Hefei, 230026, Anhui, China. zhang11@ustc.edu.cn.
Abstract:
Seismic tomography provides unique constraints on the morphology, the deformation, and (indirectly) the rheology of subducting slabs. We use teleseismic double-difference P-wave tomography to image with unprecedented clarity the structural complexity of the Izu-Bonin slab. We resolve a tear in the slab in the mantle transition zone (MTZ) between 26.5° N and 28° N. North of the tear, the slab is folded in the MTZ. Immediately above the fold hinge, a zone of reduced P-wavespeed may result from viscous dissipation within an incipient shear zone. To the south of the tear, the slab overturns and lies flat at the base of the MTZ. The ~680 km deep 2015 Bonin earthquake (Mw~7.9) is located at the northernmost edge of the overturning part of the slab. The localised tearing, shearing and buckling of the Izu-Bonin slab indicates that it remains highly viscous throughout the upper mantle and transition zone.
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