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<p>The subduction initiation remains one of the core controversies in plate tectonic theory, fundamentally reflecting interactions between endogenic gravitational driving forces within plates and external tectonic stresses. Through systematic study of marginal seas in the West Pacific Ocean with distinct subduction initiation patterns since the Cenozoic era-including the North Sulawesi subduction zone representing a transition from passive to active continental margins, the abortive Mussau Trench featuring young oceanic plate subduction beneath older ones, the Solomon Subduction Zone demonstrating a subduction polarity reversal (young oceanic plate overriding older one), and the IBM (Izu-Bonin-Mariana) Subduction Zone exhibiting a subduction of old oceanic plate beneath younger ones-this research reveals that, under the dynamic regime dominated by megaplates and subordinate to microplates in the West Pacific, young oceanic plate subduction beneath older ones (e.g., Solomon and Caroline Seas) depends on external compressive stresses combined with pre-existing weak zones such as transform faults. Rheological contrast zones between island arcs and young oceanic basins serve as preferential sites for incipient subduction, where conjugate shear zones constitute fundamental structural architectures. A transition from passive to active continental margins (e.g., Sulawesi Sea) is primarily controlled by regional compression. Even in cases of old oceanic plate subduction beneath younger ones (e.g., IBM system), initial stages exhibit transgression rather than spontaneous mechanisms, requiring sustained external forcing for continued subduction. Within the current framework of plate tectonics, purely spontaneous subduction driven solely by density contrasts between oceanic lithospheres appears geodynamically impossible. Lateral compression often plays key roles in breaking lithospheric equilibrium, serving as critical triggers for subduction initiation through focused strain localization along pre-existing weaknesses.</p>

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How did Cenozoic subduction initiate in the West Pacific?

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年11月7日

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  • Weiwei Ding,
  • Weidong Sun

摘要

The subduction initiation remains one of the core controversies in plate tectonic theory, fundamentally reflecting interactions between endogenic gravitational driving forces within plates and external tectonic stresses. Through systematic study of marginal seas in the West Pacific Ocean with distinct subduction initiation patterns since the Cenozoic era-including the North Sulawesi subduction zone representing a transition from passive to active continental margins, the abortive Mussau Trench featuring young oceanic plate subduction beneath older ones, the Solomon Subduction Zone demonstrating a subduction polarity reversal (young oceanic plate overriding older one), and the IBM (Izu-Bonin-Mariana) Subduction Zone exhibiting a subduction of old oceanic plate beneath younger ones-this research reveals that, under the dynamic regime dominated by megaplates and subordinate to microplates in the West Pacific, young oceanic plate subduction beneath older ones (e.g., Solomon and Caroline Seas) depends on external compressive stresses combined with pre-existing weak zones such as transform faults. Rheological contrast zones between island arcs and young oceanic basins serve as preferential sites for incipient subduction, where conjugate shear zones constitute fundamental structural architectures. A transition from passive to active continental margins (e.g., Sulawesi Sea) is primarily controlled by regional compression. Even in cases of old oceanic plate subduction beneath younger ones (e.g., IBM system), initial stages exhibit transgression rather than spontaneous mechanisms, requiring sustained external forcing for continued subduction. Within the current framework of plate tectonics, purely spontaneous subduction driven solely by density contrasts between oceanic lithospheres appears geodynamically impossible. Lateral compression often plays key roles in breaking lithospheric equilibrium, serving as critical triggers for subduction initiation through focused strain localization along pre-existing weaknesses.