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Slab tearing and its surface signals controlled by passive margin strength
Giridas Maiti1, Nevena Andrić-Tomašević2, Attila Balázs3
1Institute of Applied Geosciences, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany. giridas.maiti@kit.edu.
Nature Communications
|June 4, 2026
Summary
Slab tearing, the detachment of subducting oceanic plates, is better understood by considering passive-margin strength. This research reconciles geodynamic models with geological evidence, revealing persistent surface signatures of this process.
Area of Science:
- Geophysics
- Tectonics
- Geodynamics
Background:
- Slab tearing, the lateral detachment of subducting oceanic plates from continental lithosphere, is inferred from seismic tomography but its surface expressions are debated.
- Existing geodynamic models predict rapid tear propagation, inconsistent with preserved geological records and field observations like foreland basin migration.
Purpose of the Study:
- To resolve the paradox between geodynamic models and geological evidence regarding slab tearing.
- To investigate the role of passive-margin strength in controlling slab tearing initiation, propagation, and surface imprints.
Main Methods:
- Utilized fully coupled three-dimensional thermo-mechanical simulations.
- Incorporated surface-process modeling to simulate geological evolution.
- Compared simulation results with natural examples from various orogenic belts.
Main Results:
- Lateral variations in passive-margin strength significantly slow slab tear propagation.
- Heterogeneity in passive margins leads to long-lived tectonostratigraphic signatures.
- Simulations produced results consistent with geological observations from the Alps, Carpathians, and Zagros.
Conclusions:
- Passive-margin heterogeneity is a fundamental control on slab tearing dynamics and its surface manifestations.
- This study provides a unified framework linking deep-mantle processes to surface geological records.
- The findings offer a new perspective for identifying and interpreting slab tearing in global orogenic systems.
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