Yingfeng Ji

Three‐dimensional numerical modeling of temperature and mantle flow fields associated with subduction of the Philippine Sea plate, southwest Japan

We investigated temperature and mantle flow distributions associated with subduction of the Philippine Sea (PHS) plate beneath southwest Japan, by constructing a three-dimensional parallelepiped model incorporating a past clockwise rotation, the bathymetry of the Philippine Sea plate, and distribution of the subducting velocity within its slab. The geometry of the subducting plate was inferred from contemporary seismic studies and was used as a slab guide integrated with historical plate rotation into the 3-D simulation. Using the model, we estimated a realistic and high-resolution temperature field on the subduction plate interface, which was constrained by a large number of heat flow data, and attempted to clarify its relationship with occurrences of megathrust earthquakes, long-term slow slip events (L-SSEs), and nonvolcanic low-frequency earthquakes (LFEs). Results showed that the oblique subduction coupled with the 3-D geometry of subducting PHS plate was a key factor affecting the interplate and intraplate temperature distributions, leading to a cold anomaly in the plate interface beneath western Shikoku, the Bungo Channel, and the Kii Peninsula. Temperatures in the slab core in these regions at a depth near the continental Moho were nearly 200°C lower than that in eastern Shikoku, indicating a high thermal lateral heterogeneity within the subducting plate. The geothermal control of the LFEs beneath western Shikoku was estimated to be within a range from 400 to 700°C, and the interplate temperature for the L-SSEs with a slip larger than 15 cm beneath the Bungo Channel was estimated to be approximately 350–500°C. A large horizontal temperature gradient of 2.5 ~ °C/km was present where the LFEs occurred repeatedly. The steep temperature change was likely to be related to the metamorphic phase transformation from lawsonite or blueschist to amphibolite of hydrous minerals of the mid-ocean ridge basalt of the subducting PHS plate.

Three‐dimensional numerical modeling of thermal regime and slab dehydration beneath Kanto and Tohoku, Japan

Although the thermal regime of the interface between two overlapping subducting plates, such as those beneath Kanto, Japan, is thought to play an important role in affecting the distribution of interplate and intraslab earthquakes, the estimation of the thermal regime remains challenging to date. We constructed a three-dimensional (3-D) thermal convection model to simulate the subduction of the Pacific plate along the Japan Trench and Izu-Bonin Trench, including the subduction of the Philippine Sea beneath Kanto and investigated the slab thermal regime and slab water contents in this complex tectonic setting. Based on the subduction parameters tested in generic models with two flat oceanic plates, a faster or thicker plate subducting in a more trench-normal direction produces a colder slab thermal regime. The interplate temperature of the cold anomaly beneath offshore Kanto was approximately 300°C colder than that beneath offshore Tohoku at a same depth of 40 km and approximately 600°C colder at a depth of 70 km. The convergence between the two subducting plates produces an asymmetric thermal structure in the slab contact zone beneath Kanto, which is characterized by clustered seismicity in the colder southwestern half. The thermo-dehydration state of the mid-ocean ridge basalt near the upper surface of the subducted Pacific plate controls the interplate seismicity beneath the Kanto-Tohoku region according to the spatial concurrence of the thermo-dehydration and seismicity along the megathrust fault zone of the subducted Pacific plate.

Slab dehydration and earthquake distribution beneath southwestern and central Japan based on three‐dimensional thermal modeling

We developed a 3-D thermal convection model to estimate the thermal regime, water content distribution, and slab dehydration beneath southwestern and central Japan, where deep tectonic tremors and short-term slow slip events (S-SSEs) are frequently observed on the plate interface extending from the western Shikoku to the Tokai district. The results showed that the pressure-temperature (P-T) conditions for the S-SSEs, deep tectonic tremors, and regular earthquakes indicate that they probably originated from slab dehydration in association with subduction, resulting in a phase transformation from prehnite-actinolite/lawsonite blueschist to amphibolite with a large thermal gradient. Slab dehydration and the thermal gradient in the dip direction are considered key factors for controlling the seismogenesis of slow and regular earthquakes in the Philippine Sea plate beneath southwestern and central Japan, although the deep tectonic tremors are more complicated because they are likely favored by a comparatively low temperature gradient in southwestern Japan.

Thermal State, Slab Metamorphism, and Interface Seismicity in the Cascadia Subduction Zone Based On 3‐D Modeling

Giant earthquakes have repeatedly ruptured the Cascadia subduction zone, and similar earthquakes will likely also occur there in the near future. We employ a 3-D time-dependent thermomechanical model that incorporates an up-to-date description of the slab geometry to study the Cascadia subduction thrust. Results show a distinct band of 3-D slab dehydration that extends from Vancouver Island to the Seattle Basin and farther southward to the Klamath Mountains in northern California, where episodic tremors cluster. This distribution appears to include a region of increased dehydration in northern Cascadia. The phenomenon of heterogeneous megathrust seismicity associated with oblique subduction suggests that the presence of fluid-rich interfaces generated by slab dehydration favors megathrust seismogenesis in the northern part of this zone. The thin, relatively weakly metamorphosed Explorer, Juan de Fuca, and Gorda Plates are associated with an anomalous lack of thrust earthquakes, and metamorphism that occurs at temperatures of 500–700°C near the Moho discontinuity may represent a key factor in explaining the presence of the associated episodic tremor and slip (ETS), which requires a young oceanic plate to subduct at a small dip angle, as is the case in Cascadia and southwestern Japan. The 3-D intraslab dehydration distribution suggests that the metamorphosed plate environment is more complex than had previously been believed, despite the existence of channeling vein networks. Slab amphibolization and eclogitization near the continental Moho depth is thus inferred to account for the resultant overpressurization at the interface, facilitating the generation of ETS and the occurrence of small to medium thrust earthquakes beneath Cascadia.

Seismogenesis of dual subduction beneath Kanto, central Japan controlled by fluid release

Dual subduction represents an unusual case of subduction where one oceanic plate subducts on top of another, creating a highly complex tectonic setting. Because of the complex interaction between the two subducted plates, the origin of seismicity in such region is still not fully understood. Here we investigate the thermal structure of dual subduction beneath Kanto, central Japan formed as a consequence of a unique case of triple trench junction. Using high-resolution three-dimensional thermo-mechanical models tailored for the specific dual subduction settings beneath Kanto, we show that, compared with single-plate subduction systems, subduction of double slabs produces a strong variation of mantle flow, thermal and fluid release pattern that strongly controls the regional seismicity distribution. Here the deepening of seismicity in the Pacific slab located under the Philippine Sea slab is explained by delaying at greater depths (~150 km depth) of the eclogitization front in this region. On the other hand, the shallower seismicity observed in the Philippine Sea slab is related to a young and warm plate subduction and probably to the presence of a hot mantle flow traveling underneath the slab and then moving upward on top of the slab.