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The subduction of the Chile Ridge beneath South America beginning 12–16 Myr ago opened a gap in the subducting slab beneath southern Patagonia, which migrated northward and is located today at 46°S. Geodynamic processes associated with the slab window are poorly understood. Here we apply finite‐frequency P and SH body wave tomography to seismic data from several temporary arrays as well as regional stations to image seismic heterogeneities down to 650 km depth. The results show strong low velocity anomalies extending to 400 km depth beneath recent back‐arc volcanism between 46°S and 48°S, suggesting a link to thermal upwelling in the upper mantle. The southern edge of the Nazca slab extends aseismically down to at least 350 km. We also image low upper mantle seismic velocities beneath the Patagonia icefields, suggesting low viscosity modulates the patterns of uplift and horizontal deformation observed by GNSS.

Arc volcanism across Iran is dominated by a Paleogene pulse, despite protracted and presumably continuous subduction along the northern margin of the Neotethyan ocean for most of Mesozoic and Cenozoic time. New U‐Pb and 40Ar/39Ar data from volcanic arcs in central and northern Iran constrain the duration of the pulse to ∼17 Myr, roughly 10% of the total duration of arc magmatism. Late Paleocene‐Eocene volcanic rocks erupted during this flare‐up have major and trace element characteristics that are typical of continental arc magmatism, whereas the chemical composition of limited Oligocene basalts in the Urumieh‐Dokhtar belt and the Alborz Mountains which were erupted after the flare‐up ended are more consistent with derivation from the asthenosphere. Together with the recent recognition of Eocene metamorphic core complexes in central and east central Iran, stratigraphic evidence of Eocene subsidence, and descriptions of Paleogene normal faulting, these geochemical and geochronological data suggest that the late Paleocene‐Eocene magmatic flare‐up was extension related. We propose a tectonic model that attributes the flare‐up to decompression melting of lithospheric mantle hydrated by slab‐derived fluids, followed by Oligocene upwelling and melting of enriched mantle that was less extensively modified by hydrous fluids. We suggest that Paleogene magmatism and extension was driven by an episode of slab retreat or slab rollback following a Cretaceous period of flat slab subduction, analogous to the Laramide and post‐Laramide evolution of the western United States. Key Points Iranian arc volcanism is dominated by a Paleogene flare‐up The volcanic flare‐up overlaps in time with a phase of extensional tectonism The extensional flare‐up is ascribed to Neotethyan slab rollback

Deep‐crustal magma plumbing at arc volcanoes controls the volume, frequency, and composition of magma being transported to and stored in the upper crust. However, the mid‐to‐lower crust remains a challenging region to image. We explore the mid‐to‐lower crustal velocity structure beneath the Christiana‐Santorini‐Kolumbo Volcanic Field (CSKVF) to better understand how an established stratovolcano and flanking volcano (Santorini and Kolumbo) are fed through the mid‐to‐lower crust. We use active‐source seismic data to obtain a P‐wave velocity model of the crust below the CSKVF. We invert direct and reflected P phases to cover the entire depth extent of the crust and solve for the Moho interface depth. Our model requires a curved Moho interface representative of crustal thickening via underplating. Results show a high Vp anomaly in the lower crust under Santorini and a mid‐crustal low Vp anomaly offset from both Santorini and Kolumbo. We find that accumulation of magma is located under the local extensional basin in the upper mid‐crust (<10 km) but is offset at deeper depths. We find evidence for melt storage at 11–13 km depth feeding volcanism at the Kolumbo volcanic chain. This melt is also a plausible source for the 2025 seismic swarm and dike intrusion. Resolution is limited in the mid‐crust below the Santorini caldera, leaving Santorini's mid‐crustal magma plumbing unconstrained. We think it likely that Santorini and Kolumbo have entirely separate crustal plumbing systems and mantle sources, but allow the possibility of a connection in the mid or lower crust. Plain Language Summary This study examines how magma is stored and transported through the Earth's mid‐to‐lower crust beneath the Santorini and Kolumbo volcanoes in the Christiana‐Santorini‐Kolumbo Volcanic Field. The mid‐to‐lower crust is a difficult area to study but is crucial for determining how magma is transported from the mantle through the crust at arc volcanoes. We use seismic data to create a model that shows seismic wave speed in the crust, known as a P‐wave velocity model. This model helps visualize the structure of the crust beneath the volcanic field. We identified a high‐velocity area in the lower crust beneath Santorini and a low‐velocity area in the mid‐crust that is not directly below either volcano. This low‐velocity area is likely a region of melt storage for Kolumbo and a source for the 2025 diking event. By combining our results with previous studies of Santorini and Kolumbo's chemical signatures, we found that the volcanic systems of Santorini and Kolumbo likely operate independently, even though they are geographically close. This suggests that each volcano has its own pathway for transporting and storing magma. However, there is still uncertainty regarding how magma is transported through the mid‐to‐lower crust to recharge the shallow melt at Santorini. Key Points We find melt at 11–13 km depth that is offset east of the Santorini caldera and south of the nearby submarine volcano Kolumbo A mid‐crustal magma accumulation region feeds the Kolumbo volcanic chain and the inferred 2025 dike injection Santorini and Kolumbo likely have separate plumbing systems, but a connection in the mid or lower crust is possible

The Pampean flat slab in central Chile and Argentina is characterized by the inland migration and subsequent cessation of arc volcanism since the mid‐Miocene. Slab flattening also affects the distribution and number of intermediate‐depth earthquakes and the evolution of the overlying continental thermal structure. In this study, we combine thermal‐mechanical models with petrological models to examine temporal changes in pressure, temperature, and composition during flat‐slab subduction and estimate water carrying capacity, predicted melt distributions and predicted changes in melt composition. Model results indicate that the present‐day flattened Nazca plate carries water to ∼700 km inland from the trench and could cause flux melting if the material above the slab remains fertile. Observed slab seismicity matches areas where hydrated materials have ∼>3 wt% H2O in the oceanic crust and mantle lithosphere. Seismicity increases as slab water carrying capacity decreases (slab dehydration). As P‐T conditions and compositions of the rock trapped above the slab change during slab flattening, flux melting switches from a peridotite‐dominated early phase to a combined mid‐ocean ridge basalt/eclogite and peridotite melting at ∼8 Ma. The results provide broad consistency with known earthquake distributions, seismic velocities, and observed temporal and spatial changes in volcanic patterns above the Pampean flat slab and point toward the role of melt depletion in the decrease and ultimate cessation of arc volcanism in this region. Key Points We estimate the water carrying capacities, melt distributions, and composition during the Pampean flat‐slab subduction The predicted hydrated areas match the observed slab seismicity in the Pampean region Flux melting above the flat slab is predicted to migrate inland, providing constraints on the causes of the spatiotemporal changes in magmatism

Many terrestrial silicate reservoirs display a characteristic depletion in Nb, which has been explained in some studies by the presence of reservoirs on Earth with superchondritic Nb/Ta. As one classical example, K-rich lavas from the Sunda rear-arc, Indonesia, have been invoked to tap such a high-Nb/Ta reservoir. To elucidate the petrogenetic processes active beneath the Java rear-arc and the causes for the superchondritic Nb/Ta in some of these lavas, we studied samples from the somewhat enigmatic Javanese rear-arc volcano Muria, which allow conclusions regarding the across-arc variations in volcanic output, source mineralogy and subduction components. We additionally report some data for an along-arc sequence of lavas from the Indonesian part of the Sunda arc, extending from Krakatoa in the west to the islands of Bali and Lombok in the east. We present major and trace element concentrations, Sr–Nd–Hf–Pb isotope compositions, and high-field-strength element (HFSE: Nb, Ta, Zr, Hf, W) concentrations obtained via isotope dilution and MC-ICP-MS analyses. The geochemical data are complemented by melting models covering different source compositions with slab melts formed at variable P–T conditions. The radiogenic isotope compositions of the frontal arc lavas in combination with their trace element systematics confirm previously established regional variations of subduction components along the arc. Melting models show a clear contribution of a sediment-derived component to the HFSE budget of the frontal arc lavas, particularly affecting Zr–Hf and W. In contrast, the K-rich rear-arc lavas tap more hybrid and enriched mantle sources. The HFSE budget of the rear-arc lavas is in particular characterized by superchondritic Nb/Ta (up to 25) that are attributed to deep melting involving overprint by slab melts formed from an enriched garnet–rutile-bearing eclogitic residue. Sub-arc slab melting was potentially triggered along a slab tear beneath the Sunda arc, which is the result of the forced subduction of an oceanic basement relief ~ 8 Myr ago as confirmed by geophysical studies. The purported age of the slab tear coincides with a paucity in arc volcanism, widespread thrusting of the Javanese basement crust as well as the short-lived nature of the K-rich rear-arc volcanism at that time.

The Southern Volcanic Zone (SVZ) in Chile is an active continental arc with a complex history of volcanism, where a range of magmatic compositions have been erupted in a variety of styles. In the Central SVZ, both monogenetic and polygenetic volcanoes exist, in close proximity to the Liquiñe-Ofqui Fault System (LOFS), but with variable local stress states. Previous studies have inferred varying crustal storage timescales, controlled by the orientation of volcanic centres relative to the N-S striking LOFS and σ HMax in this region. To assess the relationship between volcanism and crustal stress states affected by large-scale tectonic structures and edifice controls, we present whole rock geochemical data, to ensure consistency in source dynamics and crustal processing, mineral-specific compositional data, thermobarometry, and Fe–Mg diffusion modelling in olivine crystals from mafic lavas, to assess ascent timescales, from the stratovolcanic edifice of Puyehue-Cordón Caulle and proximal small eruptive centres. Textural observations highlight differences in crystal maturation timescales between centres in inferred compression, transpression, and extension, yet source melting dynamics remain constant. Only samples from the stratovolcanic edifice (in regional compression) preserve extensive zonation in olivine macrocrysts; these textures are generally absent from proximal small eruptive centres in transtension or extension. The zonation in olivines from stratovolcanic lavas yields timescales on the order of a few days to a few weeks, suggesting that even in environments which inhibit ascent, timescales between unrest and eruption of mafic magmas may be short. Significantly, high-resolution compositional profiles from olivine grains in the studied samples record evidence for post-eruptive growth and diffusion, highlighting the importance of careful interpretation of diffusion timescales from zoned minerals in more slowly cooled lavas when compared with tephra samples.

The thermal structure of subduction zones is fundamental to our understanding of the physical and chemical processes that occur at active convergent plate margins. These include magma generation and related arc volcanism, shallow and deep seismicity, and metamorphic reactions that can release fluids. Computational models can predict the thermal structure to great numerical precision when models are fully described but this does not guarantee accuracy or applicability. In a trio of companion papers, the construction of thermal subduction zone models, their use in subduction zone studies, and their link to geophysical and geochemical observations are explored. In this last part, we discuss how independent finite element approaches predict the thermal structure of the global subduction system and investigate how well these predictions correspond to geophysical, geochemical, and petrological observations.

The Hokuroku region of north-eastern Japan is endowed with important volcanic-hosted massive sulphide Zn–Pb–Cu deposits, which are considered the archetype of Kuroko (black ore) deposits worldwide. The bimodal, felsic-dominated volcanic succession that hosts the ore was deposited in a continental rift formed during continental extension in the final stages of the Miocene back-arc opening that led to the formation of the Japan Sea. In this study, we define some of the fundamental intensive parameters of this volcanism (temperature, pressure of crystallisation, fluid saturation, fO 2 ) based on rock textures, and analyses of whole-rock samples, minerals and melt inclusions. Based on the melt inclusion analyses, we assess the behaviour of metals during magma evolution and degassing, and evaluate the possible implications for ore deposition. Plagioclase-melt geothermometry in felsic tuff and lava samples collected from both the units underlying and overlying the Kuroko indicates temperatures of 880–940 °C, and Fe–Ti oxide equilibrium indicates oxygen fugacity of ca. FMQ + 1.5. Melt inclusions have high-SiO 2 rhyolite compositions (> 75 wt%, on an anhydrous basis), and the plot of normative mineral compositions in the granitic triplot indicates low pressure of magma stalling and crystallisation (< 1 kbar) at cotectic compositions. Melt inclusion metal contents plotted vs incompatible element Y suggest contrasting behaviour of different metals during fractionation and degassing. Zinc was mostly retained in the melt during crystallisation, whereas other metals, such as Pb, Cu, Sn and Mo, were released to an exsolving fluid phase. The latter may have thus been transferred to the hydrothermal system from a degassing magma. Shallow storage of relatively hot magma would have induced vigorous hydrothermal circulation on the seafloor, a precondition for ore deposition.

The thermal structure of subduction zones is fundamental to our understanding of physical and chemical processes that occur at active convergent plate margins. These include magma generation and related arc volcanism, shallow and deep seismicity, and metamorphic reactions that can release fluids. Computational models can predict the thermal structure to great numerical precision when models are fully described but this does not guarantee accuracy or applicability. In a trio of companion papers, the construction of thermal subduction zone models, their use in subduction zone studies, and their link to geophysical and geochemical observations are explored. In part I, the motivation to understand the thermal structure is presented based on experimental and observational studies. This is followed by a description of a selection of thermal models for the Japanese subduction zones.

The Southern Gemericum basement in the Inner Western Carpathians, composed of low-grade volcano-sedimentary rock complexes, constitutes a record of the polyphase Cambrian–Ordovician continental volcanic arc volcanism. These metavolcanic rocks are characterized by the enrichment in K, Rb, Ba, Th and Ce and Sm relative to Ta, Nb, Hf, Zr, Y and Yb that are the characteristic features for volcanic arc magmatites. The new SHRIMP U–Pb zircon data and compilation of previously published and re-evaluated zircon ages, contribute to a new constrain of the timing of the Cambrian–Ordovician volcanism that occurred between 496 and 447 Ma. The following peaks of the volcanic activity of the Southern Gemericum basement have been recognized: (a) mid-late Furongian at 492 Ma; (b) Tremadocian at 481 Ma; (c) Darriwilian at 464 Ma prolonged to 453 Ma within the early Upper Ordovician. The metavolcanic rocks are characterized by a high zircon inheritance, composed of Ediacaran (650–550 Ma), Tonian–Stenian (1.1–0.9 Ma), and, to a lesser extent, Mesoproterozoic (1.3 Ga), Paleoproterozoic (1.9 Ga) and Archaean assemblages (2.6 Ga). Based on the acquired zircon populations, it could be deduced that Cambrian–Ordovician arc crust was generated by a partial melting of Ediacaran basement in the subduction-related setting, into which old crustal fragments were incorporated. The ascertained zircon inheritances with Meso-, Paleoproterozoic and Archaean cores indicate the similarities with the Saharan Metacraton provenance.