TY - JOUR
T1 - Twenty years of subduction zone science
T2 - Subduction top to bottom 2 (ST2B-2)
AU - Bebout, G. E.
AU - Scholl, D. W.
AU - Stern, R. J.
AU - Wallace, L. M.
AU - Agard, P.
N1 - Funding Information:
Subduction is a uniquely powerful and important Earth process, so it is no surprise that the geoscientific community has become increasingly interested in the process since the term was introduced by White et al. (1970; also see the prescient sketch of a subduction zone by Coats, 1962) on the heels of the plate tectonic revolution. Subduction zones are where lithosphere is recycled into the mantle and they provide the third dimension for the ~55,000 km length of convergent plate margins. The sinking of lithosphere in subduction zones provides most of the power for plate motions and is directly responsible for crustal deformation and arc magmatism. Convergent margin processes affect climate directly (volcanic gasses) and indirectly (producing relief and stimulating weathering), contributing importantly to maintaining Earth’s habitability, at the same time producing societal benefits (ore deposits and hydrocarbon-rich basins) and some of the most dangerous natural hazards (earthquakes, tsunamis, and explosive volcanism). In spite of their importance, subduction zones are not easy to study because they are hidden deeply in the Earth; teasing out their secrets has involved years of efforts by geologists, geophysicists, and geochemists from many different countries working on land, at sea, and using observations from space. The enormity of the challenge of studying subduction zones has spurred efforts to build a cross-disciplinary community of government, academic, and industrial geoscientists from many nations, and for members of this community to learn how to explain their findings to scientists with different expertise as well as to students and the public. Workshops and edited volumes play key roles in building this community. An excellent early example of this community-building effort was held 23 years ago, and the success of this workshop and the resultant publication encourages continued efforts along these lines. “SUBCON” (Subduction Conference) was held in Avalon, Santa Catalina Island, California, USA, on 12–17 June 1994, largely funded by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) but with additional support from the National Science Foundation (NSF). At this conference, ~120 scientists from around the world shared their understanding of subduction zone dynamics as a function of depth— from top to bottom—bringing together observations and predictions from the many diverse perspectives of the group. Although it is now common to see multidisciplinary groups working together to understand subduction, this was not so in the mid-1990s. To many at SUBCON, the audience to which they revealed their work was unusually diverse in interests and expertise, resulting in some surprising and useful feedback. As a part of SUBCON, the group visited selected outcrops of the Catalina Schist exposed on the island and, for many of the participants, this was a first view of an ancient subduction zone. SUBCON and its aftermath helped lead to some very productive multidisciplinary collaborations, including the 1996 publication of Subduction Top to Bottom (Bebout et al., 1996, American Geophysical Union [AGU] Geophysical Monograph 96, sometimes called “Big Purple” because of the cover). Big Purple contains 39 papers of either a review or case-study nature covering all aspects of subduction zones and their products. In the 20 or so years since SUBCON and Big Purple, many advances have been made in the fields of geophysics, petrology, geochemistry, and geodynamics, with the work increasingly conducted by highly
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017, The Geological Society of America.
Copyright:
Copyright 2018 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2018/2
Y1 - 2018/2
N2 - No other plate-tectonic setting has attracted such diverse, multidisciplinary research as convergent margins. Understanding the dynamics of subduction is particularly important for realistic assessment of associated hazards such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions. A number of recent initiatives have been successful in building communities not only to investigate subduction processes, but also to convey knowledge about subduction zone processes to other scientists, students, postdocs, and the broader public. These efforts must include synthesizing and simplifying subduction-zone science for classroom presentations and to help prepare the public for subduction-related disasters. Tremendous advances over the past 20 years or so have been made in subduction zone science, with increasingly multidisciplinary efforts producing some of the greatest insights. We have initiated a publication effort in the GSA journal Geosphere, with a Themed Issue "Subduction Top to Bottom 2" (or "ST2B-2") aimed at showcasing the recent advances, following up on the conceptually similar Subduction Top to Bottom published in 1996 as an American Geophysical Union Geophysical Monograph. The ST2B-2 Geosphere Themed Issue is accumulating papers and is open to ALL wishing to contribute to this effort-we anticipate accepting manuscripts through all of 2018 and possibly beyond.
AB - No other plate-tectonic setting has attracted such diverse, multidisciplinary research as convergent margins. Understanding the dynamics of subduction is particularly important for realistic assessment of associated hazards such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions. A number of recent initiatives have been successful in building communities not only to investigate subduction processes, but also to convey knowledge about subduction zone processes to other scientists, students, postdocs, and the broader public. These efforts must include synthesizing and simplifying subduction-zone science for classroom presentations and to help prepare the public for subduction-related disasters. Tremendous advances over the past 20 years or so have been made in subduction zone science, with increasingly multidisciplinary efforts producing some of the greatest insights. We have initiated a publication effort in the GSA journal Geosphere, with a Themed Issue "Subduction Top to Bottom 2" (or "ST2B-2") aimed at showcasing the recent advances, following up on the conceptually similar Subduction Top to Bottom published in 1996 as an American Geophysical Union Geophysical Monograph. The ST2B-2 Geosphere Themed Issue is accumulating papers and is open to ALL wishing to contribute to this effort-we anticipate accepting manuscripts through all of 2018 and possibly beyond.
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U2 - 10.1130/GSATG354A.1
DO - 10.1130/GSATG354A.1
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:85042923298
VL - 28
SP - 4
EP - 10
JO - GSA Today
JF - GSA Today
SN - 1052-5173
IS - 2
ER -