In continental arcs the extension of geothermal gradients derived from shallow crustal levels to depth predicts widespread melting at pressures that are inconsistent with seismic studies. Numerical models of low-pressure metamorphism in continental arcs suggest that these extrapolations are problematic because magmatic advection is the dominant mechanism of heat transport in these terranes rath...

S U M M A R Y We argue that subduction may be initiated at passive continental margins without shortening the lithosphere. Overcoming the lithosphere’s high compressive strength requires special circumstances, and these make it difficult to explain the nearly complete recycling of old sea-floor. Instead, we present a model that predicts tensile decoupling of the continental and oceanic lithosph...