Magmatic flare-up causes crustal thickening at the transition from subduction to continental collision

Carlos E. Ganade*, Pierre Lanari, Daniela Rubatto, Joerg Hermann, Roberto F. Weinberg, Miguel A.S. Basei, Lucas R. Tesser, Renaud Caby, Yao Agbossoumondé, Caroline M. Ribeiro

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    26 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Above subduction zones, magma production rate and crustal generation can increase by an order of magnitude during narrow time intervals known as magmatic flare-ups. However, the consequences of these events in the deep arc environment remain poorly understood. Here we use petrological and in-situ zircon dating techniques to investigate the root of a continental arc within the collisional West Gondwana Orogen that is now exposed in the Kabyé Massif, Togo. We show that gabbros intruded 670 million years ago at 20–25 km depth were transformed to eclogites by 620 million years ago at 65–70 km depth. This was coeval with extensive magmatism at 20–40 km depth, indicative of a flare-up event which peaked just prior to the subduction of the continental margin. We propose that increased H2O flux from subduction of serpentinized mantle in the hyper-extended margin of the approaching continent was responsible for the increased magma productivity and crustal thickening.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number41
    JournalCommunications Earth and Environment
    Volume2
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Dec 2021

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