Tectonic evolution of the Mariana convergent margin

Proposal P 31683-N29 funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF). Within this 3-years project, starting at January 15^th 2019, the processes within the upper plate and along the subduction channel at an active subduction zone and the associated transformation of the Philippine plate's mantle will be investigated using drill cores, which were recovered during the International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 366. The transformation of mantle rocks to serpentinite and serpentinite mud is related to of deep aqueous fluids. These transformation products occur as serpentinite mud volcanoes on the ocean floor and additionally bring along a series of rock fragments from several kilometers of depth. Thus, it is possible to analyse deep processes within the Earth's crust and the Earth's mantle, and along subduction zones. For this purpose, ocean rock rocks were drilled and sampled at eight drilling sites in the area of the Mariana Trench north-east of Guam. The fluids rising with the serpentinite mud originate from the subducted lower plate (Pacific Plate). By structural geological and geochemical analyses, systematic variations are to be investigated with the distance from the Mariana trench, and thus with the depth of the subducted lower plate. Using data from trace element analyzes, including rare earth elements, the interactions and chemical reactions between aqueous fluids and the earth's mantle, and temperatures at the fluid source can be reconstructed. The period of their activity can be determined by means of micro-paleontological investigations on deep sea sediments in the area of the serpentinite mud seamounts.

https://iodp.tamu.edu/scienceops/expeditions/mariana_convergent_margin.html

Fryer, P.,C., Wheat, G.C., Williams, T., Kelley, C., Johnson, K., Ryan, J., Kurz, W., Shervais, J., Albers, E., Bekins, B., Debret, B., Deng, J.0, Dong, Y., Eickenbusch, P., Frery, E., Ichiyama, Y., Johnston, R., Kevorkian, R., Magalhaes, V.,  Mantovanelli, S., Menapace, W., Menzies, C., Michibayashi, K., Moyer, C., Mullane, K., Park, J.-W., Price, R., Sissmann, O., Suzuki, S., Takai, K., Walter, B., Zhang, R., Amon, D., Glickson, D.& Pomponi, S.: Mariana serpentinite mud volcanism exhumes subducted seamount materials: implications for the origin of life.- Phil.Trans.R.Soc.A378: 20180425. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2018.0425, 2020. @Open Access - @Open Access

Frery, E., Fryer, P., Kurz, W., Nguyen, A., Sissmann, O., Uysal, T., Zhao, J. Episodicity of structural flow in an active subduction system, new insights from mud volcano’s carbonate veins – Scientific ocean drilling expedition IODP 366. Marine Geology. 434. 2021. 106431. doi:10.1016/j.margeo.2021.106431 @Green Open Access PDF

Del Gaudio, A.V., Piller, W.E., Auer, G. & Kurz, W.: Integrated calcareous nannofossils and planktonic foraminifera biostratigraphy as tool to date serpentinite mud production for Fantangisña seamount on the Mariana forearc (IODP Expedition 366). Newsletters on Stratigraphy, DOI: 10.1127/nos/2021/0673, 2022.
https://www.schweizerbart.de/papers/nos/detail/prepub/100676/Integrated_calcareous_nannofossils_and_planktonic_ 

Del Gaudio, A.V., Piller, W., Auer, G., Kurz, W.: Foraminifera assemblages from Fantangisña serpentinite mud seamount in the NW Pacific Ocean during the Pleistocene (IODP Expedition 366). Journal of Quaternary Science, 38, 1103-1127, 2023, DOI: DOI: 10.1002/jqs.3532 PDF

Miladinova, I., Kurz, W., Hilmbauer-Hofmacher, T.: Fluid-mantle interaction along the Mariana convergent margin. G3: Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems: an electronic journal of the earth sciences, 24, e2023GC010968, 2023, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GC010968 PDF

Miladinova, I., Kurz, W., Auer, G.: Two-stage exhumation of high-pressure rocks by corner flow and mud volcanism within an active subduction zone – A case study from serpentinite mud volcanoes along the Mariana convergent margin. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Vol. 636, June 2024, 
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2024.118717