Effect of phase transformations on buckling behavior of subducting slab and tectonic implication

The apparent thickening of the subducting slab in the shallow lower mantle has been attributed to slab buckling. However, the scaling laws have not been quantitatively evaluated for the buckling behavior of the subducting slab when phase transformations are considered. Thus, two-dimensional dynamic subduction experiments are formulated to evaluate the effect of phase transformations on the buckling behavior of the subducting slab. The model calculations show that the phase transformation from olivine to wadsleyite at a depth of 410 km plays an important role in the development of slab buckling; increased slab pull due to the endothermic phase transformation accelerates slab sinking in the upper mantle and the subducting slab reaches the lower mantle in a shorter time than that of the experiments without the phase transformation. However, the phase transformation from ringwoodite to perovskite plus magnesiowustite at a depth of 660 km retards slab sinking into the lower mantle and the subducting slab tends to be accumulated in the transformation (transition) zone. Buckling analyses show that the scaling laws predict the buckling amplitude and period of the subducting slab with small relative errors even if the phase transformations are considered. The universal phenomenon of the slab buckling can explain apparent slab thickening in the shallow lower mantle and transformation zone under the subduction zones such as Java-Sunda and Northeast Japan. In addition, the buckling behavior of the subducting slab may be related to the periodic compressions and extensions in the Cretaceous Gyeongsang basin.