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The long‐term state of stress in the subduction forearc depends on the balance between margin‐normal compression due to the plate‐coupling force and the margin‐normal tension due to the gravitational force on the margin topography. In most subduction margins, the outer forearc is largely in margin‐normal compression due to the dominance of the plate‐coupling force. The inner forearc's state of stress varies within and among subduction zones, but what gives rise to this variation is unclear. We examine the state of stress in the forearc region of nine subduction zones by inverting focal mechanism solutions for shallow forearc crustal earthquakes for five zones and inferring the previous inversion results for the other four. The results indicate that the inner forearc stress state is characterized by margin‐normal horizontal deviatoric tension in parts of Nankai, Hikurangi, and southern Mexico. The vertical and margin‐normal horizontal stresses are similar in magnitudes in northern Cascadia as previously reported and are in a neutral stress state. The inner forearc stress state in the rest of the study regions is characterized by margin‐normal horizontal deviatoric compression. Tension in the inner forearc tends to occur where plate coupling is shallow. A larger width of the forearc also promotes inner‐forearc tension. However, regional tectonics may overshadow or accentuate the background stress state in the inner forearc, such as in Hikurangi. Plain Language Summary The state of stress in the overriding plate between the trench and the volcanic arc of subduction zones depends on frictional coupling between the overriding and subducting plates and gravitational force, which causes lateral compression and tension, respectively. The trench‐ward portion of this so‐called “forearc” region is generally in compression due to the dominant effect of plate coupling, but for the arc‐ward portion, the relative importance of the two forces varies spatially. We constrain the state of stress in the forearc using earthquake data for five subduction zones and inferring results from previous studies for four other subduction zones. The results indicate that the forearc stress state seems to correlate with the downdip depth of plate coupling and the width of the forearc. A relatively shallow downdip extent of coupling in a wide forearc tends to have the arc‐ward portion in tension or neutral stress state as observed in parts of Nankai, Hikurangi, Mexico, and Cascadia although this tendency is impacted by the local tectonic settings. Key Points Focal mechanism inversion results indicate the correlation of inner forearc stress state with the downdip depth of plate coupling Margin‐normal horizontal deviatoric tension in the inner forearc tends to occur where plate coupling is shallow and the forearc is wide The variation in the inner forearc stress state does not require a variation in the subduction fault strength

This work explores the characteristics and the seismogenic potential of crustal faults on the overriding plate in an area of high seismic hazard associated with the occurrence of subduction earthquakes and shallow earthquakes of the overriding plate. We present the results of geomorphic, structural, and fault kinematic analyses conducted on the convergent margin between the Cocos plate and the forearc region of the overriding North American plate, within the Guerrero sector of the Mexican subduction zone. We aim to determine the active tectonic processes in the forearc region of the subduction zone, using the river network pattern, topography, and structural data. We suggest that in the studied forearc region, both strike-slip and normal crustal faults sub-parallel to the subduction zone show evidence of activity. The left-lateral offsets of the main stream courses of the largest river basins, GPS measurements, and obliquity of plate convergence along the Cocos subduction zone in the Guerrero sector suggest the activity of sub-latitudinal left-lateral strike-slip faults. Notably, the regional left-lateral strike-slip fault that offsets the Papagayo River near the town of La Venta named “La Venta Fault” shows evidence of recent activity, corroborated also by GPS measurements (4–5 mm/year of sinistral motion). Assuming that during a probable earthquake the whole mapped length of this fault would rupture, it would produce an event of maximum moment magnitude Mw = 7.7. Even though only a few focal mechanism solutions indicate a stress regime relevant for reactivation of these strike-slip structures, we hypothesize that these faults are active and suggest two probable explanations: (1) these faults are characterized by long recurrence period, i.e., beyond the instrumental record, or (2) they experience slow slip events and/or associated fault creep. The analysis of focal mechanism solutions of small magnitude earthquakes in the upper plate, for the period between 1995 and 2008, revealed that frequent normal faults, sub-parallel to the trench, could be reactivated in the current stress field related to the Cocos subduction. Moreover, these features could also be reactivated by subduction megathrust earthquakes.

We propose a conceptual geological model for the collision of multiple basement topographic highs (BTHs; e.g., seamounts, ridges, and horsts) with a forearc accretionary wedge. Even though there are many BTHs on an oceanic plate, there are few examples of modeling the collision of multiple BTHs. We conducted numerical simulations using the discrete element method to examine the effects of three BTH collisions with forearcs. The typical geological structure associated with a BTH collision was reproduced during the collision of the first BTH, and multiple BTH collisions create a cycle of formation of BTH collisional structures. Each BTH forces the basal décollement to move up to the roof décollement, and the roof décollement becomes inactive after the passage of the BTH, and then the décollement moves down to the base. As the active décollement position changes, the sequences of underthrust sediments and uplifted imbricate thrusts are sandwiched between the décollements and incorporated into the wedge. At a low horizontal compressive stress, a “shadow zone” is formed behind (i.e., seaward of) the BTH. When the next BTH collides, the horizontal compressive stress increases and tectonic compaction progresses, which reduce the porosity in the underthrust sediments. Heterogeneous evolution of the geological and porosity structure can generate a distinctive pore pressure pattern. The underthrust sediments retain fluid in the “shadow” of the BTH. Under the strong horizontal compressive stresses associated with the next BTH collision, pore pressure increases along with a rapid reduction of porosity in the underthrust sediments. The distinctive structural features observed in our model are comparable to the large faults in the Kumano transect of the Nankai Trough, Japan, where a splay fault branches from the plate boundary and there are old and active décollements. A low-velocity and high-pore-pressure zone is located at the bottom of the accretionary wedge and in front (i.e., landward) of the subducting ridge in the Kumano transect. This suggests that strong horizontal compressive stresses associated with the current BTH collision has increased the pore pressure within the underthrust sediments associated with previous BTHs.

The local topographic slope of the accretionary prism is often used together with the critical taper theory to determine the effective friction on subduction megathrust. In this context, extremely small topographic slopes associated with extremely low effective basal friction (μ≤0.05) can be interpreted either as seismically locked portions of megathrust, which deforms episodically at dynamic slip rates or as a viscously creeping décollement. Existing mechanical models of the long-term evolution of accretionary prism, sandbox models, and numerical simulations alike, generally do not account for heat conservation nor for temperature-dependent rheological transitions. Here, we solve for advection–diffusion of heat with imposed constant heat flow at the base of the model domain. This allows the temperature to increase with burial and therefore to capture how the brittle–ductile transition and dehydration reactions within the décollement affect the dynamic of the accretionary prism and its topography. We investigate the effect of basal heat flow, shear heating, thermal blanketing by sediments, and the thickness of the incoming sediments. We find that while reduction of the friction during dewatering reactions results as expected in a flat segment often in the forearc, the brittle–ductile transition results unexpectedly in a local increase of topographic slope by decreasing internal friction. We show that this counterintuitive backproduct of the numerical simulation can be explained by the onset of internal ductile deformation in between the active thrusts. Our models, therefore, imply significant viscous deformation of sediments above a brittle décollement, at geological rates, and we discuss its consequences in terms of interpretation of coupling ratios at subduction megathrust. We also find that, with increasing burial and ductile deformation, the internal brittle deformation tends to be accommodated by backthrusts until the basal temperature becomes sufficient to form a viscous channel, parallel to the décollement, which serves as the root to a major splay fault and its backthrust and delimits a region with a small topographic slope. Morphologic resemblances of the brittle–ductile and ductile segments with forearc high and forearc basins of accretionary active margins, respectively, allow us to propose an alternative metamorphic origin of the forearc crust in this context.

The Olympic Peninsula is the uplifted portion of the Cascadia accretionary wedge and forms the core of a 200 km scale oroclinal bend on the west coast of Washington State. The accretionary wedge started forming 45 million years ago following the accretion of the Siletzia igneous province along the Cascadia subduction margin. Low-temperature thermochronology studies have shown that the core of the peninsula has been continuously exhumed for the last 14 million years. The earlier onset of oroclinal bending, uplift, and emergence remains poorly documented. Here, we explore the Cenozoic drainage history of the Cascadia forearc and accretionary wedge to reconstruct the deformation history of the Olympic Peninsula. We use detrital zircon provenance and grain petrography data from modern rivers draining the Cascades, the Cascadia forearc and accretionary wedge, as well as from Eocene to late middle Miocene sedimentary units from the same areas. We first show a clear difference of sedimentary provenance between sedimentary units in the accretionary wedge, with older units reflecting mélange and imbricated strata that began as part of Siletzia, and younger units reflecting trench-fill material sourced from the Cascades and accreted to the wedge. We show that the accretionary wedge was directly fed from the Cascade arc until at least 16.5±0.5 Ma, providing a maximum age for the emergence of the Olympic Peninsula. Fluvial deposits in the Cascadia forearc basin dated at 13.3±1.3 Ma display zircon age spectra and sedimentary grain petrography features typical of recycled accretionary wedge material. Although these deposits may also reflect local input, middle Miocene exhumation rates suggest the Olympic Peninsula was an active sediment source. Our results bracket the timing of emergence of the Olympic Peninsula to a narrow window in the late middle Miocene. We suggest that the initial onset of accretionary wedge deformation and oroclinal bending predates this by at least 10 million years, in the upper Oligocene, and is marked by flexural subsidence and high sedimentation rates recorded in strata of the Seattle Basin. Our results support a composite history for the development of the Cascadia accretionary wedge rather than models predicting a gradual and steady build-up.

North-trending rifts throughout south-central Tibet provide an opportunity to study the dynamics of synconvergent extension in contractional orogenic belts. In this study, we present new data from the Dajiamang Tso rift, including quantitative crustal thickness estimates calculated from trace/rare earth element zircon data, U-Pb geochronology, and zircon-He thermochronology. These data constrain the timing and rates of exhumation in the Dajiamang Tso rift and provide a basis for evaluating dynamic models of synconvergent extension. Our results also provide a semi-continuous record of Mid-Cretaceous to Miocene evolution of the Himalayan-Tibetan orogenic belt along the India-Asia suture zone. We report igneous zircon U-Pb ages of ~103 Ma and 70–42 Ma for samples collected from the Xigaze forearc basin and Gangdese Batholith/Linzizong Formation, respectively. Zircon-He cooling ages of forearc rocks in the hanging wall of the Great Counter thrust are ~28 Ma, while Gangdese arc samples in the footwalls of the Dajiamang Tso rift are 16–8 Ma. These data reveal the approximate timing of the switch from contraction to extension along the India-Asia suture zone (minimum 16 Ma). Crustal-thickness trends from zircon geochemistry reveal possible crustal thinning (to ~40 km) immediately prior to India-Eurasia collision onset (58 Ma). Following initial collision, crustal thickness increases to 50 km by 40 Ma with continued thickening until the early Miocene supported by regional data from the Tibetan Magmatism Database. Current crustal thickness estimates based on geophysical observations show no evidence for crustal thinning following the onset of E–W extension (~16 Ma), suggesting that modern crustal thickness is likely facilitated by an underthrusting Indian lithosphere balanced by upper plate extension.

Seismic reflection profiles reveal steeply landward-dipping splay faults in the rupture area of the magnitude (M) 8.1 Tonankai earthquake in the Nankai subduction zone. These splay faults branch upward from the plate-boundary interface (that is, the subduction zone) at a depth of ~10 kilometers, ~50 to 55 kilometers landward of the trough axis, breaking through the upper crustal plate. Slip on the active splay fault may be an important mechanism that accommodates the elastic strain caused by relative plate motion.

Sedimentary basins within the Transhimalayan arc-trench system provide paleotectonic and paleogeographic information on the evolution of the late Mesozoic-early Cenozoic Neo-Tethyan subduction zone along the southern Asian margin. This paper presents detailed stratigraphic, sedimentologic, petrographic, detrital-zircon geochronologic and Hf isotopic data from the Luogangcuo Formation exposed as part of the Xiukang Melange in south Tibet. The Luogangcuo Formation was deposited (ca. 88-81 Ma) in a trench environment on a deep-sea fan fed from the Lhasa block through a submarine canyon. Dominant chert and subordinate sandstone and limestone clasts in conglomerate beds indicate recycling from the Neo-Tethyan subduction complex during repeated episodes of gravitational failure. The interbedded turbiditic sandstones were sourced directly from the Gangdese magmatic arc and central Lhasa terrane. Detrital volumes from the active Asian margin increased markedly at ca. 88 Ma as a result of uplift of central Lhasa, leading to deltaic progradation, filling of the Xigaze forearc basin, and bypassing of sediments funneled via canyons across the subduction complex to reach the Luogangcuo trench basin at abyssal depths.