Extrusion of subducted crust explains the emplacement of far-travelled ophiolites.

ABSTRACT: Continental subduction below oceanic plates and associated emplacement of ophiolite sheets remain enigmatic chapters in global plate tectonics. Numerous ophiolite belts on Earth exhibit a far-travelled ophiolite sheet that is separated from its oceanic root by tectonic windows exposing continental crust, which experienced subduction-related high pressure-low temperature metamorphism during obduction. However, the link between continental subduction-exhumation dynamics and far-travelled ophiolite emplacement remains poorly understood. Here we combine data collected from ophiolite belts worldwide with thermo-mechanical simulations of continental subduction dynamics to show the causal link between the extrusion of subducted continental crust and the emplacement of far-travelled ophiolites. Ou

SUBMITTER: Porkolab K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7940418 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature