Subduction factory: 4. Depth-dependent flux of H2O from subducting slabs worldwide

• Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth Vol. 116; no. B1
• Main Authors: van Keken, Peter E., Hacker, Bradley R., Syracuse, Ellen M., Abers, Geoff A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.01.2011; American Geophysical Union
• Subjects: convergent margins; Earth sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Exact sciences and technology; geochemical cycles; metamorphic reactions; subduction zones; West Pacific; Pacific Ocean; gabbros; global; Thick plate; metamorphic facies; Earth; temperature; subduction zones; dehydration; efficiency; geologic sections; volcanic rocks; upper mantle; recycling; concentration; igneous rocks; pressure; crust; upper crust; subduction; depth; plutonic rocks; cooling; ultramafics; age; slabs; volatiles; peridotites
• ISSN: 0148-0227; 2156-2202
• DOI: 10.1029/2010JB007922

A recent global compilation of the thermal structure of subduction zones is used to predict the metamorphic facies and H2O content of downgoing slabs. Our calculations indicate that mineralogically bound water can pass efficiently through old and fast subduction zones (e.g., in the western Pacific), whereas hot subduction zones such as Cascadia see nearly complete dehydration of the subducting slab. The top of the slab is sufficiently hot in all subduction zones that the upper crust, including sediments and volcanic rocks, is predicted to dehydrate significantly. The degree and depth of dehydration in the deeper crust and uppermost mantle are highly diverse and depend strongly on composition (gabbro versus peridotite) and local pressure and temperature conditions. The upper mantle dehydrates at intermediate depths in all but the coldest subduction zones. On average, about one third of the bound H2O subducted globally in slabs reaches 240 km depth, carried principally and roughly equally in the gabbro and peridotite sections. The predicted global flux of H2O to the deep mantle is smaller than previous estimates but still amounts to about one ocean mass over the age of the Earth. At this rate, the overall mantle H2O content increases by 0.037 wt % (370 ppm) over the age of the Earth. This is qualitatively consistent with inferred H2O concentrations in the Earth's mantle assuming that secular cooling of the Earth has increased the efficiency of volatile recycling over time.