Delamination, Slab Break-Off,

and Slab Roll-Back

Jeff Bowman
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 Outline
Delamination
Slab Break-Off
Slab Roll-Back

Discussion of related papers

Discuss papers assigned
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 Delamination
Lithospheric delamination is
the detachment of thickened
lithospheric mantle from overlying crust
during continental collision (Bird, 1978).

In other words, a chunk of lithosphere

peeling off and sinking into the
asthenosphere (Bowman, Today)
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Ways to Approach Delamination
Geochemical analysis of
metamorphic and igneous provinces.

Orogenic processes
Rapid uplift

Seismicity
Earthquakes/Tomography
Seismic refraction
Seismic reflection (Cook et. al., 1998)
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 Analogy

Glue a piece of steel

to the bottom of a
block of wood that is
floating in water.

http://www.geology.um.maine.edu/geodynamics/analogwebsite/Projects2002/Gerbi20
5
02/lith_delam.html
 Taking A Step Back
Oxburgh 1972 introduced
Flake Tectonics and Continental Collision
Large sheets of material (flakes) shearing off
the top of one of the colliding plates.

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 The Accredited Start
Delamination was introduced as a
theory by Peter Bird of UCLA in 1978 and
1979.
Detachment of thickened lithospheric
mantle from overlying crust during
continental collision (Bird, 1978).

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 P. Bird - Delamination
His concept has come to include a
broader range of processes,
including
Detachment of oceanic slabs (Sacks and
Secor, 1990; Davies and von
Blackenburg, 1995)
Foundering of mafic lower crust and
upper mantle driven by phase changes
(Kay and Kay, 1993; Nelson, 1991).
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 Continental Delamination and
the Colorado Plateau, Bird 1979
Delamination cannot
begin until some
process breaks
through the mantle
lithosphere, allowing
asthenosphere to
contact the crust.

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 Bird, 1979

Four possible causes

of delamination:
Convective instability
Rifting
Plume erosion
Continental collision

http://peterbird.name/publications/1979_d
elamination/0010s_4_ways_to_initiate.jpg 10
 Continental Delamination and
the Colorado Plateau, Bird 1979

Instability is expected
to propagate at plate
tectonic rates, 5 cm/yr

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 Bird, 1979
The delamination
model implies a fast
rise of asthenosphere
to replace the sinking
lithosphere; 24 cm/yr
Figure shows the
similarities between
subduction and
delamination

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Meissner, Mooney 1998

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Consequences of Delamination
Bird, 1979
Regional Uplift
Excess pressure brought by newly risen
asthenosphere
Increased Heat Flow
Reduced Seismic Velocities
Mafic volcanism
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Kay and Mahlburg Kay, 1993
Same idea of delamination as P. Bird
Lithospheric delamination is the
foundering of dense lithosphere into less
dense asthenosphere.
One step further:
Cause for the density inversion
thermal
compositional
phase changes
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Kay and Mahlburg Kay, 1993
Other existing models rely on thermal
expansion to create density changes.

However, compositional variations and

phase changes more easily generate
density differences.
Mafic granulite facies -> eclogite facies

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Kay and Mahlburg Kay, 1993
A prediction of delamination events are
tough

Field observations are better for

identifying where delamination has
occurred
Observable structures
Thermal and magmatic events
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 Delamination Magmatism:
Andes
2-3 m.y. ago, the Argentine Puna changed
Thickened crust -> Crustal shortening
(Isacks, 1988)
Mafic volcanism across region

Topographic high compared to

the northern Puna (Isacks, 1988)

This area outlines delamination

Kay and Mahlburg Kay, 1993 18
 Cross-section of Andean Crust

Kay and Mahlburg Kay,

Seismic studies show a gap 1993

Slab too hot due to asthenosphere 19

 Geochemical Classification
Three general chemical groups based on
trace element characteristics
Oceanic Island Basalt (OIB), Calc-Alkaline,
and Shoshonite
Kay and Mahlburg Kay, 1993

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Geochemical Classification
Melting percentages
OIB highest
Relates to seismic gap
on x-section
CAC-ALK intermediate
Flanking OIB on margins
Shoshonites smallest
Northeastern area
where lithosphere is
thicker
Kay and Mahlburg 21
Kay, 1993
Kay and Mahlburg Kay, 1993
Delamination events exist in few places
Basin and Range
Tibet
Andes

Delamination events may have been

more common (Archean)
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 Lustrino 2005
Paper explaining the geochemical
compositions of basaltic magmas found
Uses a model involving delamination to
explain peculiarities
Density increase
Basalt -> amphibolite -> eclogite
Sound familiar?

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 Lustrino
2005
A) Initial situation
Cont. -Oceanic -Cont.
B) Oceanic slab
subducting
C) Cont. Cont. collision
D) Lithos. thickening
Phase changes
E) Density increase leads
to instability
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Top: temperature (degree centegrate)
field and some isotherms.

Middle: composition
by tracers,
blue = upper crust,
yellow = lower crust,
red = mantle;
in the mantle lithosphere
the initially vertical tracer columns
are almost not deformed
due to the high viscosity.

Bottom: viscous dissipation function

(non-dimensionallog10),
zoomed-in into the upper half of the
model.

http://www.geophysik.uni-
frankfurt.de/~schmelin/orogeny/orogenyneu.h
tml Schott and Schmeling, 1998
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 Collisional Delamination in New
Guinea: The Geotectonics of
Subducting Slab Breakoff
Mark Cloos et. al., 2005
Lithotectonic belt relationships
Mechanical properties of the crust and
lithospheric mantle
Basis for series of lithospheric-scale cross
sections showing collisional delamination
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 Cook et. al., 1998
Describes results from an ~725 km long ~100
km deep seismic reflection profile recorded by
LITHOPROBE

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 Cook et. al., 1998
Enlargement of data in SlaveWopmay crustal
wedge

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 Slab Break-Off
A.K.A. Slab Detachment
Subducted slab becomes detached from
the surface slab
Observed volcanism
Regional tectonics
First hypothesized based on (1970s)
Hypocentral distribution
Tomographic images
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Davies & Blanckenburg 1995
Model -> oceanic lith. detaches from
continental lith. during continental
collision
Opposing buoyancy leads to extension in
the subducting slab
Rifting occurs with strain localization

Critical strain rates & lithosphere strength

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 !! Fun Fact !!
Comparison of mean life span
Continental crust
2.2 Ga
Oceanic crust
100 Ma
Continental crust does not subduct
very well

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Davies & Blanckenburg 1995
Buoyant continental crust vs. cold
dense oceanic crust
Extensional forces acting at transition
region

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Sacks & Secor, 1990
Delamination in
Collisional Orogens
Continental crust
buoyancy vs. slab
pull force
Extensional stress
may lead to
extensionally rupture
A: simple shear
B: pure shear
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 Davies & Blanckenburg 1995
Strain localization
Critical strain rates
Kusznir and Park (1987) weakening of 50 m.y
old lithosphere
5 x 10-15 s-1
Other strain rates
0.12 x 10-15 s-1 0.37 x 10-15 s-1 Houseman &
England (1996)
Critical strain rate may lower with depth*
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Davies & Blanckenburg 1995
Figure 4 Integrated strength vs. depth

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 Consequences
Magmatism
Asthenospheric upwelling
Exhumation of high-pressure rocks
Orogen deformation and uplift

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 Discussion
Setting expected
Syn-collisional magmatism
Preceded by subduction of oceanic and
continental lithosphere
Birds delamination model
Difficult to start and stop
Extensive crustal melt vs. localized/linear
crustal melt
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Ferrari 2004 fig 2

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 Slab Roll-Back
Subducting slab sweeps back through the
mantle like a paddle
Hinge migrates away from the arc region
Upper plate is pulled along and may lead to
back-arc spreading
Causes/Effects
Gravity
Forces
Asthenosphere upwelling

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Heuret & Lallemand, 2005, Plate
motions, slab dynamics and
back-arc deformation
Where = density difference between slab
and mantle, L = slab length, A = age of slab, K
= constant

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 Heuret, Lallemand 2005
In contrast to the theoretical rule where roll-
back increases with age.
Younger age subducting slabs roll-back faster

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 Heuret, Lallemand 2005
Rules out slab roll-back related to
slab pull
As many advancing trenches as
retreating ones
Slab age is not correlated with trench
retreat

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