3D Geometry and Kinematics of the Taiwan Arc-continent Collision

Abstract:

In Taiwan two subduction zones (Manila trench and Ryukyu trench) come together in a quasi-orthogonal, kinematically stable configuration. Subduction is ongoing in both trenches, even though the tectonic setting in the Manila trench is that of an arc-continent collision. The upper crust of Eurasia (EU) is decoupled from the rest of the lithosphere by a detachment horizon, which is the main subduction interface between EU and Philippine Sea plate (PSP). The interface is visible in both seismicity and crustal tomography at shallow depths, and it can be followed into the mantle to 450-500 km depth with global tomography. Shortening across the plate boundary is accomplished by a combination of subduction of EU lithosphere, folding and thrusting in the Eurasian upper crust, and a secondary subduction zone within the PSP. We hypothesize that: (1) once arc-continent collision occurs, subduction of Eurasian continental lower crust and upper mantle can continue by lithospheric delamination and by continuity with the much larger Eurasian slab to the south; (2) the upper crust of EU deforms by faulting and folding; (3) the present convergence rate of about 90 mm/yr is limited at most to the last 2 Ma, whereas the long-term rate is about 30 mm/yr and in Taiwan the difference is being taken up by secondary subduction within the PSP margin; (4) a margin-parallel STEP (Subduction-Transform-Edge-Propagator) fault forms the northern limit of Eurasian subduction, which allows the whole system to propagate self-similarly southwestward. No slab breakoff is required for the kinematics of the margin, and none is observed in geophysical or geological data either. This kinematics is consistent with geologic observations: from timing of opening of the southern Okinawa trough, to geometry of geologic boundaries within the Taiwan mountain belt, to geographic distribution, geochemical character, and timing of Quaternary volcanism in the northern Taiwan volcanic zone. We constrained the long-term convergence rate by combining tomographic images with data from foreland basin migration in western Taiwan.