Geophysical Research Letters· 2026Q1
State of Stress in Subduction Zone Forearcs: Influence of the Mantle Wedge Corner and Serpentinization
- 1citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2026year
Short summary
Numerical models show that the elasticity and density of the serpentinized mantle wedge corner control stress patterns in subduction zone forearcs, predicting horizontal tension in Cascadia and Nankai, and compression in NE Japan and Costa Rica.
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Key points
- Mantle wedge corner elasticity and density are key factors in subduction zone forearc stress.
- Models predict horizontal tension in Cascadia and Nankai due to buoyant, elastic wedge corners and weak plate coupling.
- Horizontal compression is predicted for NE Japan and Costa Rica where plate coupling dominates.
- Serpentinization's physical properties are incorporated into the mantle wedge corner models.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
Abstract We investigate the role of the elasticity and density of the forearc mantle wedge corner on the stress distribution in the forearc region of subduction zones, using numerical quasi‐2D lithospheric deformation models for the Cascadia, Nankai, NE Japan, and Costa Rica subduction zones. We incorporate the forearc mantle wedge corner as an elastic domain within the overriding lithosphere with physical properties that reflect reported degrees of serpentinization. In the models, we also incorporate reported values of effective friction coefficient ( μ ) and the downdip extent of frictional coupling (DoC) for the four subduction systems. Our models predict horizontal deviatoric tension in the wedge and the overriding crust in Cascadia and Nankai due to the buoyancy and elasticity of the wedge corner and relatively low DoC and μ . In NE Japan and Costa Rica, the plate coupling force dominates over the effect of the mantle wedge corner, resulting in horizontal deviatoric compression.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Geophysical Research Letters, 2026 · DOI ↗
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GeophysicsEarth and Planetary Sciences