Subduction

Although all oceanic arcs grow through the addition of subduction-generated magmas, the geology of the northern Philippines demonstrates that a major contribution to arc crustal growth can come from repeated, episodic, intra-arc, back-arc, and/or fore-arc oceanic crust generation with subsequent preservation of the basic-ultrabasic units in the arc complex. At least five episodes of oceanic crust generation are represented in the northern Philippines by preserved ophiolitic sequences and recent intra-arc seafloor spreading. Each episode is distinct in age as confirmed by modern dating techniques, with the ages ranging from pre(?)-Jurassic to ˜Quaternary. Although the Philippines is widely regarded as an amalgamation of allochthonous terranes, a review of the available data shows that there is currently no compelling evidence that these ophiolites are of exotic origin and that they have been tectonically accreted to the Philippine arc complex. Rather, the evidence suggests that most—and possibly all—of the ophiolites were generated as back-arc, fore-arc, or intra-arc crust within the Philippine arc complex. Hence, there is a close spatial association of several ophiolitic terranes of diverse ages spanning ˜150 Myr that formed as part of the arc complex. Such an association may have arisen from episodic generation of oceanic crust during periods of local extension in a suprasubduction zone setting, which has experienced changing and possibly overlapping subduction from the east and west sides (in the current reference frame). Disruption of the ophiolitic basement terranes has been, and continues to be, effected primarily by wrench faulting. This style of arc growth has implications for the paleotectonic interpretation of ancient ophiolite-arc terranes in continents and the petrologic evolution of island arcs.

The Neyriz ophiolite along the northeast flank of the Zagros fold-thrust belt in southern Iran is an excellent example of a Late Cretaceous supra-subduction zone (SSZ)-related ophiolite on the north side of the Neotethys. The ophiolite comprises a mantle sequence including lherzolite, harzburgite, diabasic dikes, and cumulate to mylonitic gabbro lenses, and a crustal sequence comprising a sheeted dike complex and pillow lavas associated with pelagic limestone and radiolarite. Mantle harzburgites contain less CaO and Al 2 O 3 , are depleted in rare earth elements, and contain spinels that are more Cr-rich than lherzolites. Mineral compositions of peridotites are similar to those of both abyssal and SSZ-peridotites. Neyriz gabbroic rocks show boninitic (SSZ-related) affinities, while crustal rocks are similar to early arc tholeiites. Mineral compositions of gabbroic rocks resemble those of SSZ-related cumulates such as high forsterite olivine, anorthite-rich plagioclase, and high-Mg# clinopyroxene. Initial εNd(t) values range from +7.9 to +9.3 for the Neyriz magmatic rocks. Samples with radiogenic Nd overlap with least radiogenic mid-ocean ridge basalts and with Semail and other Late Cretaceous Tethyan ophiolitic rocks. Initial 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ranges from 0.7033 to 0.7044, suggesting modification due to seafloor alteration. Most Neyriz magmatic rocks are characterized by less radiogenic 207 Pb/ 204 Pb (near the northern hemisphere reference line), suggesting less involvement of sediments in their mantle source. Our results for Neyriz ophiolite and the similarity to other Iranian Zagros ophiolites support a subduction initiation setting for its generation.

The North African section of the Gondwana margin was the site of voluminous, arc-related magmatism during the Late Neoproterozoic (Avalonian–Cadomian orogen). The lower (and older) metasedimentary sequence that constitutes the Basal Units of the Allochthonous Complexes of NW Iberia was deposited in that setting. In these units, sedimentation was followed by the intrusion of tonalites and granodiorites in the late Cambrian (ca. 493–489Ma). In the Late Paleozoic, the collision of Gondwana and Laurussia (Variscan orogeny) deformed and metamorphosed the whole ensemble.

New whole rock geochemical analysis performed in seven samples of metatonalites and fourteen samples of metagranodiorites are characterized by: i) slight enrichment in incompatible elements (Rb, Ba, Th, U), ii) negative anomalies in Nb, Ta, P, and Ti, and iii) negative anomalies in Eu. These chemical features are in agreement with a subduction-related setting for the genesis of both types of magma, which is also supported by chemical discrimination using tectonic setting diagrams. Positive anomalies of Pb suggest a crustal component. The new geochemical data reveal that the convergent orogen that ruled the paleogeography of the Gondwana periphery during the Neoproterozoic (Cadomian orogen) remained active beyond the Neoproterozoic-Cambrian transition, up to at least late Cambrian times.

Hydrothermalism in the Mediterranean Sea results from the collision of the African and European plates, with the subduction of the oceanic part of the African plate below Europe. High heat flows in the resulting volcanic arcs and back-arc extensional areas have set-up hydrothermal convection systems. Most of the known hydrothermal sites are in shallow coastal waters,

Middle Miocene to Quaternary magmatism in Central Sulawesi (Indonesia) is characterised by radiogenic Sr and Pb isotopic signatures, and unradiogenic Nd isotopic ratios. Although the geochemistry of the samples is heterogeneous, all samples show a distinct subduction signature (negative anomalies for Nb and Ti, positive for K and Pb) in their trace element patterns. Mafic magmatism is represented by lamprophyric magmas, and a suite of `gabbros' (ranging from gabbro to clinopyroxenite). The isotopic signature of the lamprophyres could be explained by simple mixing between a mantle source, similar to that for mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB), and sediments, as is typical for subduction-related volcanics, but the Pb–Sr isotopic systematics of the gabbros preclude this interpretation. They are interpreted as containing an important contribution from an old sub-continental lithospheric source, located within a sliver of Australian continent that has been thrust underneath Central Sulawesi. Felsic magmatism is likely to reflect high degrees of crustal contamination or intracrustal melting. These interpretations suggests that contemporaneous subduction did not play a major role in determining the isotopic signature of Miocene–Pleistocene magmatism in the area, despite the `subduction signature' seen in their trace element patterns.