Seismic anisotropy is a powerful tool for detecting the geometry and style of deformation in the Earth's interior, as it primarily reflects the deformation-induced preferred orientation of anisotropic crystals. Although seismic anisotropy in the upper mantle is generally attributed to the crystal-preferred orientation of olivine, the strong trench-parallel anisotropy (delay time of one to two seconds) observed in several subduction systems is difficult to explain in terms of olivine anisotropy, even if the entire mantle wedge were to act as an anisotropic source. Here we show that the crystal-preferred orientation of serpentine, the main hydrous mineral in the upper mantle, can produce the strong trench-parallel seismic anisotropy observed in subduction systems. High-pressure deformation experiments reveal that the serpentine c-axis tends to rotate to an orientation normal to the shear plane during deformation; consequently, seismic velocity propagating normal to the shear plane (plate interface) is much slower than that in other directions. The seismic anisotropy estimated for deformed serpentine aggregates is an order of magnitude greater than that for olivine, and therefore the alignment of serpentine in the hydrated mantle wedge results in a strong trench-parallel seismic anisotropy in the case of a steeply subducting slab. This hypothesis is also consistent with the presence of a hydrous phase in the mantle wedge, as inferred from anomalously low seismic-wave velocities.

International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 352 recovered a high-fidelity record of volcanism related to subduction initiation in the Bonin fore-arc. Two sites (U1440 and U1441) located in deep water nearer to the trench recovered basalts and related rocks; two sites (U1439 and U1442) located in shallower water further from the trench recovered boninites and related rocks. Drilling in both areas ended in dolerites inferred to be sheeted intrusive rocks. The basalts apparently erupted immediately after subduction initiation and have compositions similar to those of the most depleted basalts generated by rapid sea-floor spreading at mid-ocean ridges, with little or no slab input. Subsequent melting to generate boninites involved more depleted mantle and hotter and deeper subducted components as subduction progressed and volcanism migrated away from the trench. This volcanic sequence is akin to that recorded by many ophiolites, supporting a direct link between subduction initiation, fore-arc spreading, and ophiolite genesis.

Structural and fabric analysis of the well-exposed Hilti mantle section, Oman ophiolite, suggests that shear zone development, which may have resulted from oceanic plate fragmentation, was influenced by pre-existing mantle fabric present at the paleo-ridge. Detailed structural mapping in the mantle section revealed a gently undulating structure with an east–west flow direction. A NW–SE strike-slip shear zone cuts across this horizontal structure. The crystal preferred orientation (CPO) of olivine within the foliation is dominated by (010) axial patterns rather than more commonly observed (010)[100] patterns, suggesting that the horizontal flow close to the Moho involved non-coaxial flow. Olivine CPO within the shear zone formed at low temperature is characterized by (001)[100] patterns and a sinistral sense of shear. The olivine CPO becomes weaker with progressive mylonitization and accompanying grain size reduction, and ultimately develops into an ultra-mylonite with a random CPO pattern. The olivine [010]-axis is consistently sub-vertical, even where the horizontal foliation has been rotated to a sub-vertical orientation within the shear zone. These observations suggest that the primary mechanical anisotropy (mantle fabric) has been readily transformed into a secondary structure (shear zone) with minimum modification. This occurred as a result of a change of the olivine slip systems during oceanic detachment and related tectonics during cooling. We propose that primary olivine CPO fabrics may play a significant role in the subsequent structural development of the mantle. Thus, the structural behavior of oceanic mantle lithosphere during subduction and obduction may be strongly influenced by initial mechanical anisotropy developed at an oceanic spreading center.

[1] Expeditions 304 and 305 of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program cored and logged a 1.4 km section of the domal core of Atlantis Massif. Postdrilling research results summarized here constrain the structure and lithology of the Central Dome of this oceanic core complex. The dominantly gabbroic sequence recovered contrasts with predrilling predictions; application of the ground truth in subsequent geophysical processing has produced self‐consistent models for the Central Dome. The presence of many thin interfingered petrologic units indicates that the intrusions forming the domal core were emplaced over a minimum of 100–220 kyr, and not as a single magma pulse. Isotopic and mineralogical alteration is intense in the upper 100 m but decreases in intensity with depth. Below 800 m, alteration is restricted to narrow zones surrounding faults, veins, igneous contacts, and to an interval of locally intense serpentinization in olivine‐rich troctolite. Hydration of the lithosphere occurred over the complete range of temperature conditions from granulite to zeolite facies, but was predominantly in the amphibolite and greenschist range. Deformation of the sequence was remarkably localized, despite paleomagnetic indications that the dome has undergone at least 45° rotation, presumably during unroofing via detachment faulting. Both the deformation pattern and the lithology contrast with what is known from seafloor studies on the adjacent Southern Ridge of the massif. There, the detachment capping the domal core deformed a 100 m thick zone and serpentinized peridotite comprises ∼70% of recovered samples. We develop a working model of the evolution of Atlantis Massif over the past 2 Myr, outlining several stages that could explain the observed similarities and differences between the Central Dome and the Southern Ridge.

Several varieties of seafloor hydrothermal vents with widely varying fluid compositions and temperatures and vent communities occur in different tectonic settings. The discovery of the Lost City hydrothermal field in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge has stimulated interest in the role of serpentinization of peridotite in generating H ₂ - and CH ₄ -rich fluids and associated carbonate chimneys, as well as in the biological communities supported in highly reduced, alkaline environments. Abundant vesicomyid clam communities associated with a serpentinite-hosted hydrothermal vent system in the southern Mariana forearc were discovered during a DSV Shinkai 6500 dive in September 2010. We named this system the “Shinkai Seep Field (SSF).” The SSF appears to be a serpentinite-hosted ecosystem within a forearc (convergent margin) setting that is supported by fault-controlled fluid pathways connected to the decollement of the subducting slab. The discovery of the SSF supports the prediction that serpentinite-hosted vents may be widespread on the ocean floor. The discovery further indicates that these serpentinite-hosted low-temperature fluid vents can sustain high-biomass communities and has implications for the chemical budget of the oceans and the distribution of abyssal chemosynthetic life.