Synonyms
Convergent boundary; Convergent margin; Destructive margin; Ocean-continent subduction; Oceanic subduction zone; Subduction zone
Definition
An active continental margin refers to the submerged edge of a continent overriding an oceanic lithosphere at a convergent plate boundary by opposition with a passive continental margin which is the remaining scar at the edge of a continent following continental break-up. The term “active” stresses the importance of the tectonic activity (seismicity, volcanism, mountain building) associated with plate convergence along that boundary. Today, people typically refer to a “subduction zone” rather than an “active margin.”
Generalities
Active continental margins, i.e., when an oceanic plate subducts beneath a continent, represent about two-thirds of the modern convergent margins. Their cumulated length has been estimated to 45,000 km (Lallemand et al., 2005). Most of them are located in the circum-Pacific (Japan, Kurils, Aleutians, and North,...
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Bibliography
Cartigny, P., Chinn, I., Viljoen, K. S., and Robinson, D., 2004. Early proterozoic ultrahigh pressure metamorphism: evidence from microdiamonds. Science, 304, 853–855.
Hassani, R., Jongmans, D., and Chéry, J., 1997. Study of plate deformation and stress in subduction processes using two-dimensional numerical models. Journal of Geophysical Research, 102(B8), 17951–17965.
Heuret, A., and Lallemand, S., 2005. Plate motions, slab dynamics and back-arc deformation. Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, 149, 31–51.
Kanamori, H., 1977. The energy release in great earthquakes. Journal of Geophysical Research, 82(20), 2981–2987.
Kincaid, C., and Sacks, I. S., 1997. Thermal and dynamical evolution of the upper mantle in subduction zones. Journal of Geophysical Research, 102(B6), 12295–12315.
Konstantinovskaia, E. A., 2001. Arc-continent collision and subduction reversal in the Cenozoic evolution of the Northwest Pacific: an example from Kamchatka (NE Russia). Tectonophysics, 333, 75–94.
Kroehler, M. E., Mann, P., Escalona, A., and Christeson, G. L., 2011. Late Cretaceous-Miocene diachronous onset of backthrusting along the South Caribbean deformed belt and its importance for understanding processes of arc collision and crustal growth. Tectonics, 30, TC6003.
Lallemand, S., 1999. La subduction océanique. Amsterdam: Gordon and Breach Science Publishers, 208 pp (in french).
Lallemand, S. E., Popoff, M., Cadet, J.-P., Deffontaines, B., Bader, A.-G., Pubellier, M., and Rangin, C., 1998. Genetic relations between the central & southern Philippine Trench and the Philippine Trench. Journal of Geophysical Research, 103(B1), 933–950.
Lallemand, S., Huchon, P., Jolivet, L., and Prouteau, G., 2005. In Vuibert (ed.), Convergence lithosphérique, 182 pp (Paris).
Roger, F., Arnaud, N., Gilder, S., Tapponnier, P., Jolivet, M., Brunel, M., Malavieille, J., Xu, Z., and Yang, J., 2003. Geochronological and geochemical constraints on Mesozoic suturing in east central Tibet. Tectonics, 22(4), 1037.
Scholz, C. H., 1990. The Mechanics of Earthquakes and Faulting. New York: Cambridge University Press. 400 pp.
Shemenda, A. I., 1992. Horizontal lithosphere compression and subduction: constraints provided by physical modeling. Journal of Geophysical Research, 97(B7), 11097–11116.
Stern, R. J., and Bloomer, S. H., 1992. Subduction zone infancy: examples from the Eocene Izu-Bonin-Mariana and Jurassic California arcs. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 104, 1621–1636.
Taboada, A., Rivera, L. A., Fuenzalida, A., Cisternas, A., Philip, H., Bijwaard, H., Olaya, J., and Rivera, C., 2000. Geodynamics of the northern Andes: subductions and intracontinental deformation (Colombia). Tectonics, 19(5), 787–813.
Tamura, Y., Ishizuka, O., Aoike, K., Kawate, S., Kawabata, H., Chang, Q., Saito, S., Tatsumi, Y., Arima, M., Takahashi, M., Kanamaru, T., Kodaira, S., and Fiske, R. S., 2010. Missing Oligocene crust of the Izu-Bonin arc: consumed or rejuvenated during collision ? Journal of Petrology, 51(4), 823–846, doi:10.1093/petrology/egq002.
Turcotte, D. L., and Schubert, G., 1982. Geodynamics: Applications of Continuum Physics to Geological Problems. New York: Wiley. 450 pp.
Uyeda, S., 1984. Subduction zones: their diversity, mechanism and human impacts. GeoJournal, 8(4), 381–406.
Weissel, J., Anderson, R., and Geller, C., 1980. Deformation of the Indo-Australian plate. Nature, 287, 284–291.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this entry
Cite this entry
Lallemand, S. (2016). Active Continental Margins. 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_102
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6238-1_102
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-007-6237-4
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-6238-1
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences