Skip to main content
Earth, Planets and Space
Download PDF
  • Article
  • Published:

Dehydration of serpentinized slab mantle: Seismic evidence from southwest Japan

Earth, Planets and Space volume 53, pages 861–871 (2001)Cite this article

Abstract

The seismicity in the subducting Philippine Sea slab (PHS) beneath southwest Japan shows a variety of modes of occurrence. We try to explain this variety on the basis of dehydration embrittlement in the subducting oceanic crust and/or mantle. The PHS subducting along the Nankai Trough shows commonly a single narrow seismic zone shallower than 60 km, which may reflect dehydration embrittlement in the hydrated subducting oceanic crust only, implying the lack of hydrated slab mantle. The PHS beneath Kanto, however, shows a double seismic zone (Hori, 1997) in the mantle part. Here the serpentinized mantle wedge of the Izu-Bonin fore-arc is subducting, and the double zone can be explained by its dehydration. Beneath Kii Peninsula and Kyushu, seismic events within the slab mantle have also been detected. This indicates that the PHS mantle beneath these areas is also hydrated, which may have resulted from subduction of the serpentine stable in the Izu-Bonin back-arc area. Aqueous fluids released from the serpentinized mantle beneath Kii Peninsula may have initiated partial melting in the mantle wedge, as indicated by the presence of high 3He/4He ratios in the natural gasses and the shallow seismic swarms in this region (Wakita et al., 1987).

References

  • Ahrens, T. J. and G. Schubert, Gabbro-eclogite reaction rate and its geophysical significance, Reviews of Geophysics and Space Physics, 2, 383–400, 1975.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Christensen, N. I., Elasticity of ultrabasic rocks, J. Geophys. Res., 71, 5921–5931, 1966.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davies, J. H. and D. J. Stevenson, Physical model of source region of subduction zone volcanics, J. Geophys. Res., 97, 2037–2070, 1992.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Engdahl, E. R. and C. H. Scholz, A double Benioff zone beneath the central Aleutians: An unbending of the lithosphere, Geophys. Res. Lett., 4, 473–476, 1977.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fryer, P. and G. Fryer, Origins of nonvolcanic seamounts in a fore-arc environment, in Seamounts Islands and Atolls, edited by H. Keating, P. Fryer, R. Batiza, and G. W. Boehlert, pp. 61–69, Am. Geophys. Union, Washington, D. C., 1987.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Fukao, Y., S. Hori, and M. Ukawa, A seismological constraint on the depth of basalt-eclogite transition in a subducting oceanic crust, Nature, 303, 413–415, 1983.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hamaguchi, H., H. Goto, and Z. Suzuki, Double-planed structure of intermediate depth seismic zone and thermal stress in the descending plate, J. Phys. Earth, 31, 329–347, 1983.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hasegawa, A., N. Umino, and A. Takagi, Double-planed structure of the deep seismic zone in the northeastern Japan arc, Tectonophys., 47, 43–58, 1978.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hess, H. H., History of ocean basins, in Petrological Studies; A Volume in Honor of A. F. Buddington, edited by A. E. Engel, H. L. James, and B. F. Leonard, pp. 599–620, Geol. Soc. Am., Boulder, 1962.

    Google Scholar 

  • Honda, S., Thermal structure beneath Tohoku, northeast Japan—a case study for understanding the detailed thermal structure of the subdution zone, Tectonophys., 112, 69–102, 1985.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hori, S., Seismic waves guided by untransformed oceanic crust subducting into the mantle: the case of the Kanto district, central Japan, Tectonophys., 176, 355–376, 1990.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hori, S., Earthquake mechanism within the Philippine Sea plate subducting beneath the Kanto district, central Japan, Jisin, 50, 203–213, 1997 (in Japanese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Hori, S., H. Inoue, Y. Fukao, and M. Ukawa, Seismic detection of the untransformed ‘basaltic’ oceanic crust subducting into the mantle, Geophys. J. R. astron. Soc, 83, 169–197, 1985.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ishida, M., Geometry and relative motion of the Phillippine sea plate and Pacific plate beneath the Kanto-Tokai district, Japan, J. Geophys. Res., 97, 489–513,1992.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iwamori, H., Transportation of H2O and melting in subduction zone, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 160, 65–80, 1998.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kamimura, A., J. Kasahara, R. Hino, M. Shinohara, H. Shiobara, G. Fujie, and T. Kanazawa, Crustal structure study at the Izu-Bonin subduction zone around 31°N Implications of serpentinized materials along the subduction plate boundary, Scientific activities 2001, Istanbul Technical University, 21–30, 2001.

  • Kamiya, S. and Y. Kobayashi, Seismological evidence for the existence of serpentinized wedge mantle, Geophys. Res. Lett., 27, 819–822, 2000.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kirby, S., Intraslab earthquakes and phase changes in subducting lithosphere, Rev. Geophys., Suppl., 287–297, 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirby, S., B. S. Hemingway, and R. Lee, Anomalous fracture and thermal behavior of hydrous minerals, Geophys. Monogr., 56, 119–126, 1990.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirby, S., E. R. Engdhal, and R. Denlinger, Intermediate-depth intraslab earthquakes and arc volcanism as physical expressions of crustal and uppermost mantle metamorphism in subducting slabs (Overview), edited by G. Bebout, D. Scholl, and S. Kirby, Geophys. Monogr., 96, 195–214, Am. Geophys. Union, Washington, D. C., 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kodaira, S., E. Kurashimo, N. Takahashi, A. Nakanishi, S. Miura, J.-O. Park, T. Iwasaki, N. Hirata, K. Ito, and Y. Kaneda, Structural factors in controlling a rupture process of a magathrust earthquake at the Nankai trough seismogenic zone: results from asn onshore-offshore seismic study, Geophys. J. Inter., 2001 (submitted).

  • Murauchi, S., N. Den, S. Asano, H. Hotta, T. Yoshii, T. Asanuma, K. Hagiwara, K. Ichikawa, T. Sato, W. J. Ludwig, J. I. Ewing, N. T. Edgar, and R. E. Houtz, Crustal structure of the Philippine Sea, J. Geophys. Res., 73, 3143–3171, 1968.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matsumura, S., Focal zone of a future Tokai earthquake inferred from the seismicity pattern around the plate interface, Tectonophys., 273, 271–291, 1997.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nakamura, M., H. Watanabe, T. Konomi, S. Kimura, and K. Miura, Characteristics activities of subcrustal earthquakes along the outer zone of southwestern Japan, Annuals of the Disaster Prevension Research Instutute, 40, 1–20, 1997 (in Japanese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Nakanishi, M., K. Tamaki, and K. Kobayashi, A new Mesozoic isochron chart of the northwestern Pacific Ocean: paleomagnetic and tectonic implications, Geophys. Res. Lett., 19, 693–696, 1992.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nishiyama, S., Mantle hydrology in a subduction zone: A key to episodic geologic events, double Wadati-Benioff zones and magma genesis, Mathematical Seismology VII, Rep. Stat. Math. Inst., 34, 31–67, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ohkura, T., Structure of the upper part of the Philippine Sea plate estimated by later phases of upper mantle earthquakes in and around Shikoku, Japan, Tectonophys., 321, 17–36, 2000.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Okino, K., Y. Shimakawa, and S. Nagano, Evolution of the Shikoku Basin, J. Geomag. Geoelectr., 46, 463–479, 1994.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peacock, S. M., The importance of blueschist—eclogite dehydration reactions in subducting oceanic crust, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull, 105, 684–694, 1993.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peacock, S. M., Are the lower planes of double seismic zones caused by serpentine dehydration in subducting oceanic mantle?, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull, 29, 299–302, 2001.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peacock, S. M. and K. Wang, Seismic consequences of warm versus cool subduction metamorphism: Examples from southwest and northeast Japan, Science, 286, 937–939, 1999.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raleigh, C. B. and M. S. Paterson, Experimental deformation of serpentinite and its tectonic implications, J. Geophys. Res., 70, 3965–3985, 1965.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sano, Y. and H. Wakita, Geographical distribution of 3He/ 4He rations in Japan: implications for arc tectonics and incipient magmatism, J. Geophys. Res., 90, 8729–8741, 1985.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sekiguchi, S., Three dimensional P and S velocity structures of uppermost mantle beneath Kanto, Tokai and Chubu districts, Japan, Jisin, 53, 137–151, 2000.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seno, T., Tectonic evolution of the West Philippine Basin, Modern Geology, 12, 481–495, 1988.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seno, T. and S. Maruyama, Paleogeographic reconstruction and origin of the Philippine Sea, Tectonophys., 102, 53–84, 1984.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seno, T. and Y. Yamanaka, Double seismic zones, deep compressional trench—outer rise events and superplumes, in Subduction Top to Bottom, edited by G. E. Bebout, D. W. Scholl, S. H. Kirby, and J. P. Platt, Geophys. Monogr., 96, 347–355, Am. Geophys. Union, Washington, D. C., 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seno, T., S. Stein, and A. E. Gripp, A model for the motion of the Philippine Sea plate consistent with NUVEL-1 and geological data, J. Geophys. Res., 98, 17941–17948, 1993.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seno, T., T. Sakurai, and S. Stein, Can the Okhotsk plate be discriminated from the North American plate?, J. Geophys. Res., 101, 11305–11315, 1996.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shimizu, H., K. Uyehira, and K. Goto, The detailed structure of the deep seismic zone and focal mechanism solutions from the western end of Chugoku-Shikoku district to the Kyushu district, Abstr. Seism. Soc. Jpn., B39, 2000 (in Japanese).

  • Sleep, N. H., The double seismic zone in downgoing slabs and the viscosity of the mesosphere, J. Geophys. Res., 84, 4565–4571, 1979.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suyehiro, K., N. Takahashi, Y. Ariie, Y. Yokoi, R. Hino, M. Shinohara, T. Kanazawa, N. Hirata, H. Tokuyama, and A. Taira, Continental crust, crustal underplating, and low-Q upper mantle beneath an oceanic Island arc, Science, 272, 390–392, 1996.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Takahashi, N., K. Suyehiro, and M. Shinohara, Implications from the seismic crustal structure of the northern Izu-Bonin arc, Isl. Arc, 7, 383–394, 1998.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tatsumi, Y., Migration of fluid phases and genesis of basalt magmas in subduction zones, J. Geophys. Res., 94, 4697–4707, 1989.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ulmer, P. and V. Trommsdorff, Serpentine stability to mantle depths and subduction-related magmatism, Science, 268, 858–859, 1995.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wakita, H., Y. Sano, and M. Mizoue, High 3 He emanation and seismic swarms observed in a nonvolcanic, forearc region, J. Geophys. Res., 92, 12539–12546, 1987.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, K., R. D. Hyndman, and M. Yamano, Thermal regime of the Southwest Japan subduction zone: effects of age history of the subducting plate, Tectonophys., 248, 53–69, 1995.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yamano, M., Recent heat flow studies in and around Japan, Terrestrial heat flow and geothermal energy in Asia, in Terrestrial Heat Flow and Geothermal Energy in Asia, edited by M. L. Gupta and M. Yamano, pp. 173–201, Oxford & IBH Publishing Co., New Delhi, 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yamazaki, F. and T. Ooida, Configuration of subducted Philippine Sea plate beneath the Chubu District, central Japan, Jisin, 38, 193–201, 1985 (in Japanese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, D. and H. Negishi, The 1995 Kobe earthquake: Seismic image of the source zone and its implications for the rupture nucleation, J. Geophys. Res., 103, 9967–9986, 1998.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, D., K. Asamori, and H. Iwamori, Seismic structure and magmatism of the young Kyushu subduction zone, Geophys. Res. Lett., 27, 2057–2060, 2000a.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, D., F. Ochi, A. Hasegawa, and A. Yamamoto, Evidence for the location and cause of large crustal earthquakes in Japan, J. Geophys. Res., 105, 13579–13594, 2000b.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, D., M. Di, F. Ochi, and T. Seno, Dehydration and earthquakes of the Philippine Sea slab (2) Evidence from seismic tomography, Abstr. Seism. Soc. Jpn., P141, 2000c.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Earthquake Research Institute, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 113-0032, Japan

    Tetsuzo Seno & Masao Nakamura

  2. Department of Earth Sciences, Ehime University, Matsuyama, 790-0826, Japan

    Dapeng Zhao

  3. Faculty of Earth Sciences, Tsukuba University, Tsukuba, 305-0006, Japan

    Yoji Kobayashi

Authors
  1. Tetsuzo Seno
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Dapeng Zhao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Yoji Kobayashi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Masao Nakamura
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tetsuzo Seno.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Seno, T., Zhao, D., Kobayashi, Y. et al. Dehydration of serpentinized slab mantle: Seismic evidence from southwest Japan. Earth Planet Sp 53, 861–871 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03351683

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03351683

Keywords