School of Geosciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria 3800, Australia.
Science. 2010 Jul 16;329(5989):316-9. doi: 10.1126/science.1190366.
Subduction of oceanic lithosphere occurs through two modes: subducting plate motion and trench migration. Using a global subduction zone data set and three-dimensional numerical subduction models, we show that slab width (W) controls these modes and the partitioning of subduction between them. Subducting plate velocity scales with W(2/3), whereas trench velocity scales with 1/W. These findings explain the Cenozoic slowdown of the Farallon plate and the decrease in subduction partitioning by its decreasing slab width. The change from Sevier-Laramide orogenesis to Basin and Range extension in North America is also explained by slab width; shortening occurred during wide-slab subduction and overriding-plate-driven trench retreat, whereas extension occurred during intermediate to narrow-slab subduction and slab-driven trench retreat.
俯冲板块运动和海沟迁移。我们使用全球俯冲带数据集和三维数值俯冲模型，表明板块宽度（W）控制着这些模式以及它们之间俯冲的分配。俯冲板块的速度与 W 的 2/3 次方成正比，而海沟的速度与 1/W 成正比。这些发现解释了新生代法拉隆板块的减速以及其板块宽度减小导致俯冲分配减少的原因。北美塞维尔-拉拉米造山运动向盆地和山脉伸展的转变也可以用板块宽度来解释；在宽板块俯冲和上覆板块驱动的海沟后退期间发生了缩短，而在中-窄板块俯冲和板块驱动的海沟后退期间发生了伸展。
