Slow subduction initiation forces fast ophiolite formation

Metamorphic soles are m to ~500 m thick tectonic slices welded beneath most large- scale ophiolites (usually ~20 km thick). They typically show a steep inverted metamorphic structure where the pressure and temperature (T) conditions of crystallization increase upward, from the base of the sole (500 ± 100°C at 0.5 ± 0.2 GPa) to the contact with the overlying peridotite (800 ± 100°C at 1.0 ± 0.2 GPa). The inverted  T gradient was historically interpreted as a result of heat transfer from the incipient mantle wedge toward the nascent slab synchronously with the overlying ophiolite formation (within only 1-2 Myrs). Their mineralogical assemblage and deformation pattern provide major constraints on the nature and the timing of the processes controlling the dynamics of the plate interface during early subduction.

Soret et al. (2017, 2019) recently reappraised the tectonic–petrological model for the formation of metamorphic soles below ophiolites, showing that the present-day structure of the sole results from the successive stacking of several homogeneous oceanic crustal slivers (without internal T gradient). This stacking marks the evolution of rheological properties of slab material and peridotites of the upper plate as the plate interface progressively cools (Agard et al., 2016). These findings outline the thermal and mechanical complexity of early subduction dynamics, and highlight the need for refined numerical modelling studies.

Lu-Hf geochronology on garnet from the Oman metamorphic sole has recently shown that the earliest accreted subunit, found directly against the upper plate mantle, was initially buried ≥ 8 Ma earlier than previously estimated (Guilmette et al., 2017). These results imply initiation ≥ 8 Ma before the formation of the ophiolite, which underscores the common belief that ophiolite-sole couples record spontaneous subduction initiation and rather indicates far-field forcing long before upper plate extension and mantle upwelling.

We herein present new U-Pb titanite and monazite petrochronology across the different sub-units of the Oman metamorphic sole. Our results confirm the time lag of several million years between subduction initiation and the ophiolite formation, therefore supporting the recently proposed model of far-field forced subduction initiation. They also reveal a significant time lag between the underplating and exhumation of each sub-unit of the sole.