A comparison of the geological and geophysical environments between the Himalaya-Sumatra and Taiwan-Ryukyu collision-subduction systems revealed close tectonic similarities. Both regions are characterized by strongly oblique convergent processes and dominated by similar tectonic stress regimes. In the two areas, the intersections of the oceanic fracture zones with the subduction systems are cha...

The most spectacular example of a plate convergence event on Earth is the motion of the Indian plate towards Eurasia at speeds in excess of 18 cmyr−1 (ref. 1), and the subsequent collision. Continental buoyancy usually stalls subduction shortly after collision, as is seen in most sections of the Alpine–Himalayan chain. However, in the Indian section of this chain, plate velocities were merely r...

We use horizontal and vertical crustal displacements derived from GPS measurements at 26 sites in western Mexico to study the coseismic and post-seismic kinematics and dynamics of the 1995 October 9 (Mw=8.0) Colima–Jalisco earthquake along the Middle America Trench. The measurements bracket the entire landward edge of the approximately 150 km long rupture zone and span a 4 yr period for most si...

We propose a mechanism previously developed as a hypothetical cause of the initiation of subduction in the Earth's mantle, to describe a situation where such subduction may occur transiently, at irregular intervals of time. It has been suggested that tectonics on Venus may be described by such a scenario. In our model, a subduction event is followed by resumption of high Rayleigh number mantle ...

Using an inverse mantle convection model that assimilates seismic structure and plate motions, we reconstruct Farallon plate subduction back to 100 million years ago. Models consistent with stratigraphy constrain the depth dependence of mantle viscosity and buoyancy, requiring that the Farallon slab was flat lying in the Late Cretaceous, consistent with geological reconstructions. The simulatio...

This review is primarily concerned with the rupture process of large subduction-zone earthquakes determined by various seismological methods, and with its interpretation in terms of an asperity model. It is not possible to make a thorough and extensive review on the subject because of the limited length. Consequently, this review is inevitably biased toward the works in which I was directly inv...

The composition of continental subduction-zone fluids varies dramatically from dilute aqueous solutions at subsolidus conditions to hydrous silicate melts at supersolidus conditions, with variable concentrations of fluid-mobile incompatible trace elements. At ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphic conditions, supercritical fluids may occur with variable compositions. The water component of these ...

Crittenden Springs in northeastern Nevada yields M. gracilitatis Zone ammonoids renowned for the finely detailed, exquisite preservation of the test, which sometimes even displays relict color patterns. Evidence reveals most of the fossiliferous Lower Triassic beds in the Crittenden Springs area are overturned and this conclusion places the Meekoceras gracilitatis Zone portion of the section an...

Subduction zones generate voluminous magma and mediate global element cycling. Fluids are essential to this activity, yet their behavior is perhaps the most poorly understood aspect of the subduction process. Though many volatile components are subducted, H2O is the most abundant, is preferentially fractionated into the fluid phase, and, among terrestrial volatiles, is by far the most effective...

Western Turkey has been dominated by N–S extension since the Early Miocene. The timing and cause of this N–S extension and related basin formation have been the subject of much debate, but new data from the Bigadiç borate basin provide insights that may solve this controversy. The basin is located in the Bornova Flysch Zone, which is thought to have formed as a major NEtrending transform zone d...