Slab buckling as a driver for rapid oscillations in Indian plate motion and subduction rate

Erik van der Wiel*, Jakub Pokorný, Hana Čížková, Wim Spakman, Arie P. van den Berg, Douwe J. J. van Hinsbergen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Plate tectonics is primarily driven by the constant gravitational pull of slabs where oceanic lithosphere sinks into the mantle at subduction zones. Under stable plate boundary configurations, changes in plate motion are then thought to occur gradually. Surprisingly, recent high-resolution Indian plate reconstructions revealed rapid (2–3 Million-year) plate velocity oscillations of ±50 %. We show, through numerical experiments, that the buckling of slabs in the mantle transition zone causes such oscillations. This buckling results from the deceleration of slabs as they sink into the lower mantle. The amplitude and period of buckling-associated oscillations depend on average subduction velocity and the available space in the mantle transition zone. The oscillations also affect the upper plate which may explain enigmatic observations of episodic deformation and fluid flow in subduction-related orogens. We infer that the slab pull that drives plate tectonics is generated in just the top few hundred kilometers of the mantle.
Original languageEnglish
Article number316
Number of pages11
JournalCommunications Earth & Environment
Volume5
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 12 Jun 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2024.

Funding

Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research, NWO Vici Grant 865.17.001 (EvdW, DJJvH). Charles University Grant Agency, grant number 36121 (JP), grant SVV 260709 (JP, HC). Czech Science Foundation, grant 23-06345S (JP, HC). We thank Craig R. Bina for fruitful discussions and R. Gordon, N. Cerpa and an anonymous reviewer for their constructive feedback and helpful suggestions.

FundersFunder number
Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek865.17.001
Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek
Grantová Agentura, Univerzita Karlova36121, SVV 260709
Grantová Agentura, Univerzita Karlova
Grantová Agentura České Republiky23-06345S
Grantová Agentura České Republiky

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