0000000000376270
AUTHOR
Mark T. Brandon
On backflow associated with oceanic and continental subduction
SUMMARY A popular idea is that accretion of sediment at a subduction zone commonly leads to the formation of a subduction channel, which is envisioned as a narrow zone located above a subducting plate and filled with vigorously circulating accreted sediment and exotic blocks. The circulation can be viewed as a forced convection, with downward flow in the lower part of the channel due to entrainment by the subducting plate, and a ‘backflow’ in the upper part of the channel. The backflow is often cited as an explanation for the exhumation of high-pressure/low-temperature metamorphic rocks from depths of 30 to 50 km. Previous analyses of this problem have mainly focused on the restricted case …
Solution-mass-transfer deformation adjacent to the Glarus Thrust, with implications for the tectonic evolution of the Alpine wedge in eastern Switzerland
Abstract We have studied aspects of absolute finite strain of sandstones and the deformation history above and below the Glarus Thrust in eastern Switzerland. The dominant deformation mechanism is solution mass transfer (SMT), which resulted in the formation of a semi-penetrative cleavage. Our analysis indicates that the Verrucano and Melser sandstones, which lie above the thrust, were deformed coaxially, with pronounced contraction in a subvertical Z direction and minor extension in a subhorizontal X direction, trending at ∼200°. Most of the contraction in Z was balanced by mass-loss volume strains, averaging ∼36%. Below the Glarus Thrust, sandstones of the North Helvetic flysch have small…