Tectono-Magmatism, Metallogenesis, and Sedimentation at Convergent Margins

Book excerpt: Convergent plate margins are important places for material and energy recycling of the Earth, in particular major sites for continental growth, reworking, and recycling. They exhibit as narrow belt structure in the rigid outer layer of the Earth, corresponding to subduction zones at lithospheric mantle depths and orogenic belts at crustal depths. The type, geometry, and thermal structure of subduction zones have critical impacts on subduction processes and nature of products, resulting in a variety of magmatic rocks and ore deposits at convergent margins. Identification and classification of the physical structure and chemical variation at convergent margins as well as confirming their correlation with specific subduction types and stages are of pivotality to understand the spatiotemporal interaction between asthenosphere and lithosphere in orogenic belts. For places where magmatic arcs get partially or entirely destroyed by surface and/or subduction erosion, adjacent sedimentary rocks are ideal geological records for paleotectonic reconstruction.