Geological Society of America

9 T3. Shallowing and Steepening Subduction Zones II

Thursday, 6 April 2006
8:30 AM - 12:30 PM

FLAT SLAB SUBDUCTION IN CENTRAL MEXICO AS DETERMINED BY THE MASE PROJECT

Paper number: 9-11
Program: SUBMIT ABSTRACT
Time: 11:50 AM – 12:10 PM

Authors

Robert W. Clayton Presenting Author
California Instiute of Technology, Pasadena, CA
Vladimir Kostoglodov
Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico D.F, N/A
Xyoli Perez-Campos
UNAM, Mexico City, N/A
Allan Husker
University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Arturo Iglesias
UNAM, Mexico City, N/A
Young Hee Kim
California Instiute of Technology, Pasadena, CA
Vlad Constantin Manea
California Instiute of Technology, Pasadena, CA
Paul Davis
University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Luca Ferrari
UNAM, Juriquilla, N/A
Michael Gurnis
California Instiute of Technology, Pasadena, CA

Abstract

In this paper, we report on the preliminary results from MASE (Middle America Subduction Experiment), which is a collaborative investigation among the Tectonics Observatory at Caltech, Geophysical and Geological Institutes at UNAM, the CENS project at UCLA, and Geosciences Center at UNAM. The seismic component of the project consists of a 100-station passive broadband array that extends from Acapulco to Tampico in central Mexico. The initial results show that the subducted slab is horizontally underplating the continental crust for approximately 250 km from the trench. The images also show there is significant slab erosion in the first 80 km from the coast.

The goal of the project is to develop a geodynamical model that explains the underplating and subsequent roll-back. In addition to the seismic experiment, important observations are coming from GPS (current state of strain), geology and tectonics (past history and timing), and geochemistry (interaction of the slab with the wedge). We will show the current state of these observations, and a geodynamical model.