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:
This is an exciting time for those interested in understanding subduction margins! In addition to the GeoPRISMS initiative, the U.S. subduction science community is discussing the potential of a “Subduction Zone Observatory,” which is presented in a “SZ4D Initiative” report aimed at revealing the short-and long-term evolution of subduction margins. That report resulted from an NSF-sponsored workshop in 2016 that was attended by 250 scientists from the USA and 22 foreign countries (https:// www.iris.edu/hq/workshops/2016/09/ szo_16). The SZ4D Initiative, as presently configured, proposes three key components: a modeling component, an interdisciplinary science program, and a community infrastructure program (see McGuire et al., 2017). Its science “net” is cast widely, with the aim of fostering integrated geophysics, geology, petrology, geochemistry, and geodynamic modeling. Planning for future subduction zone studies is also being undertaken by the USGS, which has recently announced a major directive, “Reducing Risk Where Tectonic Plates Collide—A Plan to Advance Subduction Zone Science” (https://www.usgs.gov/ news/usgs-publishes-a-new-blueprint-can-help-make-subduction-zone-areas-more-resilient; Gomberg et al., 2017). As its name implies, this initiative aims to focus geological, geophysical, and petrologic/ geochemical investigations and modeling at understanding and forecasting hazards associated with subduction plate boundaries. Naturally, the Cascadia margin figures prominently in this planned endeavor because of the large earthquake, tsunami, and volcanic hazards it poses to the increasingly populated Pacific Northwest region. Another example of an initiative emphasizing study of subduction processes and hazards is the ZIP project (Zooming in between Plates), which is a collaborative research and training project funded by the European community as a European Marie Curie Initial Training Network (http://www .zip-itn.eu/). This project involves 12 Ph.D. students and two postdoctoral fellows in a network comprising twelve leading international universities and research centers and nine industrial partners. The U.S. GeoPRISMS E-FIRE project (ExTerra Field Institute and Research Endeavor: Western Alps; http://geoprisms.org/ exterra/e-fire/), funded by the NSF’s PIRE program (Partnerships in International Research and Education), builds on the success of ZIP, providing support for eight Ph.D. students and two postdoctoral fellows at 10 academic institutions.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017, The Geological Society of America.
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.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85042923298&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85042923298&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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 -