Plume-induced break-up of a subducting plate: Microcontinent formation without cessation of the subduction process

Alexander Koptev (1, 2) , Anouk Beniest (3) , Taras Gerya (4) , T.A. Ehlers (1) , Laurent Jolivet (2) , Sylvie Leroy (2)

1 Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen = Eberhard Karls University of Tuebingen
2 iSTeP - Institut des Sciences de la Terre de Paris
3 Department of Earth Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
4 Institute of Geophysics [ETH Zürich]

 3D thermo-mechanical modeling was performed to investigate the impact of the arrival of a mantle plume below a subducting lithospheric plate.  The thermal and buoyancy effects of a mantle plume prove sufficient to induce the separation of a microcontinent from the subducting plate.  The proposed scenario is consistent with a separation of the Apulian microcontinent from Africa during subduction of the Neo-Tethys.

Domaines: Planète et Univers [physics]; Sciences de la Terre

Alexander Koptev, Anouk Beniest, Taras Gerya, T.A. Ehlers, Laurent Jolivet, et al.. Plume-induced break-up of a subducting plate: Microcontinent formation without cessation of the subduction process. Geophysical Research Letters, 2019, ⟨10.1029/2018GL081295⟩. ⟨hal-02325347v1⟩