The Role of Slab Dip on the Formation of Porphyry Copper Deposits

Ben Mather, Dietmar Muller, Maria Seton, Chris Alfonso, Nicky Wright “Slab pull” force is the largest driving force of plate tectonic motion Subduction angle influences plate velocity, distribution of earthquakes, intensity of volcanism, mountain building. Factors controlling subduction angle (or “slab dip”) remain unresolved. Earthquake models constrain the depth of subducting slabs in the mantle Slab2 model (Hayes et al. 2018) provides slab dip information for global subduction zones pyGPlates provides subduction kinematics from the Clennett et al 2020 plate reconstruction. Original study by Jarrard 1986 found the duration of subduction has strongest influence on slab dip. Schellart 2020 has also proposed slab width plays an important role for flat slab subduction Hu & Gurnis 2020 reaffirm subduction duration and the nature of the overriding plate

Jul 6, 2022 9:00 AM — 10:00 AM