Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Accretionary Wedges

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Marine Geosciences

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

  • 405 Accesses

Synonyms

Accretionary complex; Accretionary prism

Definition

Accretion defines a process at a convergent plate margin above a subduction zone where material of the subducting lower plate is scraped off and transferred to the overriding upper plate. The offscraped material is accumulated in a wedge-shaped stack of sedimentary layers sometimes containing also offscraped material from the oceanic crust of the subducting plate. It is located directly at the boundary between the two converging plates. This region is called the forearc region of the convergent plate boundary (see entry “Morphology Across Convergent Plate Boundaries” and Figure 3 therein, this volume).

Formation

Accretionary wedges essentially develop as compressional fold-and-thrust belts which are composed primarily of oceanic-plate deposits and, in many cases, continentally derived trench-floor sediment from a nearby continental plate (Figure 1). Sometimes scraped-off parts of the subducted oceanic lithosphere are added...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 499.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 699.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Bibliography

  • Dominguez, S., Malavieille, J., and Lallemand, S. E., 2000. Deformation of accretionary wedges in response to seamount subduction: insights from sandbox experiments. Tectonics, 19, 182–196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fisher, D. M., 1996. Fabrics and veins in the forearc: a record of cyclic fluid flow at depths of <15 km. In Bebout, G. E., Schell, D. W., Kirby, S. H., and Platt, J. P. (eds.), Subduction Top to Bottom. Washington, DC: American Geophysical Union. Geophysics Monograph, Vol. 96, pp. 75–89.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frisch, W., Meschede, M., and Blakey, R. C., 2011. Plate Tectonics. Heidelberg/Dordrecht/London/New York: Springer, 212 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gulick, S.P.S., Bangs, N.L.B., Shipley T.H., Nakamura, Y., Moore, G., and Kuramoto, S., 2004. Three-dimensional architecture of the Nankai accretionary prism’s imbricate thrust zone off Cape Muroto, Japan: Prism reconstruction via en echelon thrust propagation. Journal of Geophysical. Research, 109(B02105). doi:10.1029/2003JB002654.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gutscher, M. A., Kukowski, N., Malavielle, J., and Lallemand, S., 1996. Cyclical behavior of thrust wedges: insights from high-basal friction sandbox experiments. Geology, 24, 135–138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kukowski, N., Schillhorn, T., Huhn, K., von Rad, U., Husen, S., and Flueh, E. R., 2001. Morphotectonics and mechanics of the central Makran accretionary wedge off Pakistan. Marine Geology, 173, 1–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meschede, M., and Pelletier, B., 1994. Structural style of the accretionary wedge in front of the North d'Entrecasteaux Ridge (ODP Leg 134). Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Scientific Results, 134, 417–429.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore, G. F., Billman, H. G., Hehanussa, P. E., and Karig, D. E., 1980. Sedimentology and paleobathymetry of trench-slope deposits, Nias Island, Indonesia. Journal of Geology, 88, 161–180.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scholl, D. W., von Huene, R., Vallier, T. L., and Howell, D. G., 1980. Sedimentary masses and concepts about tectonic processes at underthrust ocean margins. Geology, 8, 564–568.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silver, E., and Reed, E., 1988. Backthrusting in accretionary wedges. Journal of Geophysical Research, 93(B4), 3116–3126.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • von Huene, R., and Scholl, D. W., 1991. Observations at convergent margins concerning sediment subduction, subduction erosion, and the growth of continental crust. Review of Geophysics, 29, 279–316.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Westbrook, G. K., Ladd, J. W., Buhl, P., Bangs, N., and Tiley, G. J., 1988. Cross section of an accretionary wedge: Barbados Ridge complex. Geology, 16, 631–635.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Geography and Geology, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University, Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Str. 17A, D-17487, Greifswald, Germany

    Martin Meschede

Authors
  1. Martin Meschede
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Martin Meschede .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland

    Jan Harff

  2. University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany

    Martin Meschede

  3. GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, Kiel, Germany

    Sven Petersen

  4. Institute of Earth Science, KÖPPEN-Laboratory, Saint Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia

    JÖrn Thiede

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this entry

Cite this entry

Meschede, M. (2016). Accretionary Wedges. In: Harff, J., Meschede, M., Petersen, S., Thiede, J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Marine Geosciences. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6238-1_101

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation