A fossil oceanic lithosphere preserved inside a continent

Shucheng Wu, Yingjie Yang*, Yixian Xu*, Juan Carlos Afonso, Anqi Zhang

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)
82 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

The recycling of oceanic lithosphere into the deep mantle at subduction zones is one of the most fundamental geodynamic processes on Earth. During the closure of an ocean, ancient oceanic slabs are thought to be consumed entirely in subduction zones due to their negative buoyancy. Yet, it is recently suggested that small pieces of oceanic slabs could be trapped along paleo-subduction zones. What remains far more enigmatic is whether significant portions of paleo-oceanic lithosphere could eventually avoid the fate of subduction and be accreted to continental lithosphere, thus contributing to continental growth through time. We present seismic evidence for a preserved paleo-oceanic lithosphere beneath the Junggar region in northwestern China. We show that unsubducted oceanic lithosphere in the West Junggar has been preserved beneath the Junggar Basin, becoming a piece of the Eurasian continent.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)204-208
Number of pages5
JournalGeology
Volume51
Issue number2
Early online date3 Jan 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023

Keywords

  • 2024 OA procedure
  • ITC-ISI-JOURNAL-ARTICLE

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'A fossil oceanic lithosphere preserved inside a continent'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this