Subduction

Subduction zones are the locus of continental growth through volcanic activity, but also the site of recycling Earth’s crust as the oceanic plate dives beneath the continental crust. Subduction not only recycles the oceanic crust, but also causes tectonic erosion as the subducting plate grinds away the base of the overriding continental crust. This process, known as tectonic erosion, is the main mechanism where our continents have been destroyed through Earth history and the principal mechanism by which continental crust is recycled in the mantle. Understanding tectonic erosion and the rates in which it has operated is an essential step towards a dynamic and quantitative model to explain plate tectonics and continental evolution. It is critical to our understanding of Earth history. This project proposes studying the mechanisms and rates of destruction of continental crust through tectonic erosion with a multidisciplinary team involving all areas of Earth sciences, geology, geochemistry and geophysics.