Subduction of oceanic plates causes earthquakes, tsunamis and explosive volcanism. Subduction also gives rise to beneficial products, such as ore deposits, geothermal energy and the very ground we live on. The Subduction Factory recycles raw materials from the seafloor and underlying mantle, creates products on the upper plate in the form of melts, aqueous fluids and gases, and modulates the dynamics of plate tectonics. The Subduction Factory Initiative (SubFac) aims to study fluxes through the subduction zone to address three fundamental science themes:

1. How do forcing functions such as convergence rate and upper plate thickness regulate production of magma and fluid from the Subduction Factory?
2. How does the volatile cycle (H2O and CO2) impact chemical, physical and biological processes from trench to deep mantle?
3. What is the mass balance of chemical species and material across the Subduction Factory, and how does this balance affect continental growth and evolution?

These themes will be addressed by focused investigations on active subduction Zones. The Central American and Izu-Bonin-Mariana (IBM) subduction systems were selected for focussed study by the geoscientific community during a series of open meetings based on the following criteria: ample volcanic and seismic activity, accessibility to both input and output, along-strike variations in forcing functions, cross-arc and historical perspectives, minimal upper plate contamination of magmas, and ability to address the primary science objectives, and because they have contrasting tectonic and chemical characteristics, allowing different forcing functions to be investigated and modelled.

North Lau/Tonga Rapid Response - May 2009

SF Nuggets from 2009 Review Documents: Nuggets are available online!