The olivine-ringwoodite transformation triggers deep slab seismicity and rheological weakening

The olivine-ringwoodite transformation triggers deep slab seismicity and rheological weakening | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Physical Sciences - Article The olivine-ringwoodite transformation triggers deep slab seismicity and rheological weakening Honda Rikuto, Tomoaki Kubo, Masaaki Miyahara, Takuya Iwasato, and 6 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4900525/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The subducting cold oceanic plates (slabs) exhibit the paradoxical deformation behaviors of deep seismicity and rheological weakening at the mantle transition zone (MTZ, ~400–700 km depths). The high-pressure transformation in olivine, a major constituent silicate mineral, is kinetically inhibited forming the metastable olivine wedge (MOW) in the cold center of the subducting slabs. Although the transformation of metastable olivine to ringwoodite (spinel structure) has been proposed as the possible trigger for the two contrasting behaviors of cold slabs, there have been almost no direct experimental evidence so far. Here we report new experimental results on the transformation-deformation coupling processes at ~20 GPa corresponding to the MTZ pressures. Ringwoodite is produced as nano-polycrystalline lamellae (NPL) under uniaxial stress. The thin ringwoodite NPL trigger unstable slips with coseismic stress drops by superplastic flow coupled with thermal instability at ~760–860°C. The thickening of NPL at ~950–1,330°C stabilizes the localized deformation, at which the transformation is effectively enhanced utilizing their incoherent nature, leading to homogeneous superplastic flow. Thus, the superplasticity in newly-formed ringwoodite plays key roles in the transformation-deformation coupling that occurs differently with temperatures. The paradoxical deformation behaviors of MTZ slabs can be explained by the stress-induced formation of ringwoodite NPL triggering deep seismicity at low temperatures in the vicinity of MOW, and the subsequent bulk transformation leading to homogeneous weakening at higher temperatures outside MOW. Earth and environmental sciences/Solid Earth sciences/Geodynamics Earth and environmental sciences/Solid Earth sciences/Seismology Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4900525","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Physical Sciences - Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":365867125,"identity":"2e6471bc-bb01-4435-9a72-67be6c3c5099","order_by":0,"name":"Honda 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The high-pressure transformation in olivine, a major constituent silicate mineral, is kinetically inhibited forming the metastable olivine wedge (MOW) in the cold center of the subducting slabs. Although the transformation of metastable olivine to ringwoodite (spinel structure) has been proposed as the possible trigger for the two contrasting behaviors of cold slabs, there have been almost no direct experimental evidence so far. Here we report new experimental results on the transformation-deformation coupling processes at ~20 GPa corresponding to the MTZ pressures. Ringwoodite is produced as nano-polycrystalline lamellae (NPL) under uniaxial stress. The thin ringwoodite NPL trigger unstable slips with coseismic stress drops by superplastic flow coupled with thermal instability at ~760–860°C. The thickening of NPL at ~950–1,330°C stabilizes the localized deformation, at which the transformation is effectively enhanced utilizing their incoherent nature, leading to homogeneous superplastic flow. Thus, the superplasticity in newly-formed ringwoodite plays key roles in the transformation-deformation coupling that occurs differently with temperatures. 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