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Do Microplates In Subduction Zones Leave A Geological Record?, Jeffrey Lee, Joann M. Stock

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

Active microplate boundaries in ocean-continent subduction zones may induce deformation of the overlying plate and spatial or geochemical variations in the volcanic arc. We discuss two modern cases. The first is the South Gorda-Juan de Fuca plate boundary in the Cascadia subduction zone, where there is little or no effect on the overriding plate and the oceanic plate takes up much of the deformation. The second case is the Cocos-Rivera plate boundary in the Middle America trench, where the overlying Colima graben contains substantial deformation in a zone extending from the trench to the volcanic arc and the sub-duction-related volcanism …