Impact of seamounts on the hydration of subducting plates

Abstract

The subduction of seamounts greatly affects arc volcanism, earthquakes, and tectonic deformation of the overriding plate, but the role of seamounts during bending and hydration of the incoming plate at subduction zones is poorly understood. We present seismic tomographic results along three profiles from the Middle America Trench offshore northern Costa Rica. The crustal and upper mantle P-wave velocities decrease toward the trench, with the onset of velocity reduction at ∼70 km from the trench axis, indicating bend-faulting, alteration, and hydration of the incoming plate. The most prominent low-velocity anomaly of 7.6−7.8 km/s in the upper mantle occurs beneath a seamount at the outer rise, indicating enhanced hydration with ∼2.4 wt% water content, compared to ∼1.1−1.2 wt% in the subducting plate away from the seamount. Near the seamount, extremely low heat flow (<10 mW/m2) supports vigorous hydrothermal recharge of seawater. Our results reveal that subducting seamounts efficiently increase the permeability of the oceanic crust prior to subduction, facilitate the transport of seawater into the mantle, exert control on widespread serpentinization, and potentially promote water recycling back into Earth’s interior.