| > Oceanography > Issues > Archive > Volume 23, Number 1 |
2010, Oceanography 23(1):176–181, http://dx.doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2010.69
Seamounts in the Subduction Factory
Authors | Abstract | Full Article | Citation
Authors
Hubert Staudigel | Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
Anthony A.P. Koppers | College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA
Terry A. Plank | Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, NY, USA
Barry B. Hanan | Department of Geological Sciences, San Diego State University, San Diego, California, USA
Abstract
The "Subduction Factory" is a metaphor for the geochemical processing of subducted oceanic crust and sediment into components that are either incorporated into the volcanic arc or recycled into Earth's mantle. Seamounts may be a significant source of material to the Subduction Factory, in particular, by providing trace elements such as K, Ba, La, Ce, U, Th, Pb, Rb, and Cs. Seamount subduction might also play a role in the global distribution of chemical mantle heterogeneities. Neither one of these effects of seamount subduction is well understood. The Izu-Bonin-Marianas (IBM) volcanic arc is a region where the potential impact of seamount subduction may be explored most effectively. There, sections of the IBM arc and many of the incoming seamounts display unusually high 206Pb/204Pb ratios, which offer a particularly promising geochemical tracer that may help quantify seamount input into the Subduction Factory. Although this process remains to be explored in a quantitative manner, it is apparent that the demise of seamounts in subduction zones offers an exciting research target with important consequences for globally relevant geochemical processes.
Full Article
Citation
Staudigel, H., A.A.P. Koppers, T.A. Plank, and B.B. Hanan. 2010. Seamounts in the subduction factory. Oceanography 23(1):176–181, http://dx.doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2010.69.