TY - JOUR T1 - Subduction initiation terranes exposed at the front of a 2 Ma volcanically-active subduction zone A1 - Patriat,Martin A1 - Falloon,Trevor A1 - Danyushevsky,Leonid A1 - Collot,Julien A1 - Jean,Marlon M. A1 - Hoernle,Kaj A1 - Hauff,Folkmar A1 - Maas,Roland A1 - Woodhead,Jon D. A1 - Feig,Sandrin T. AD - IFREMER, Unite Geosci Marines, F-29280 Plouzane, France. AD - Univ Tasmania, Sch Nat Sci Earth Sci, Coll Sci & Engn, Hobart, Tas 7001, Australia. AD - DIMENC, Serv Geol Nouvelle Caledonie, 1 Ter Rue Unger,BP465, Noumea 98845, New Caledonia. AD - Univ Rochester, Earth & Environm Sci, POB 270221, Rochester, NY 14627 USA. AD - Leibniz Univ Hannover, Inst Mineral, Callinstr 3, D-30167 Hannover, Germany. AD - GEOMAR Helmholtz Ctr Ocean Res Kiel, Wischhofstr 1-3, D-24148 Kiel, Germany. AD - Univ Melbourne, Sch Earth Sci, Melbourne, Vic 3010, Australia. AD - Univ Tasmania, Cent Sci Lab, Hobart, Tas 7001, Australia. UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2018.12.011 DO - 10.1016/j.epsl.2018.12.011 KW - subduction zone KW - subduction initiation KW - forearc KW - ophiolites KW - boninites KW - adakites N2 - The development of ideas leading to a greater understanding of subduction initiation is limited by the scarcity of present-day examples. Furthermore, the few examples identified so far unfortunately provide few insights into the nature of magmatism at the inception of subduction. Here we report new observations from the Matthew and Hunter (M&H) subduction zone, a very young subduction zone located in the South-West Pacific. Tectonics of the area show it is younger than 2 Ma, making the M&H the youngest known volcanically-active subduction system and hence providing unique insights into the earliest stages of subduction initiation. Volcanism in this area comprises an exceptionally diverse range of contemporaneously erupting magma compositions which are spatially juxtaposed. Pb isotopic compositions and abundance of LILE and REE strongly suggest melting of upwelling asthenospheric mantle (Indian MORB) and subducted oceanic crust (Pacific MORB of the South Fiji Basin) and the mixing of these two components. Volcanism occurs much closer to the trench compared to volcanism in more mature subduction zones. We demonstrate that the M&H subduction zone is a modern example of an immature subduction system at the stage of pre-arc, near-trench magmatism. It is not yet building an arc but what we propose to call a Subduction Initiation Terrane (SITER). Today, the proto-forearc of the M&H subduction zone is a collage of these SITERs, coeval back-arc domains and remnants of pre-existing terranes including old Vitiaz Arc crust. The M&H area represents a modern analog of a Supra Subduction Zone setting where potentially a majority of ophiolites have formed their crustal and lithospheric components. Present-day magmatism in the M&H area therefore provides clues to understanding unforeseen distribution of contrasted magmatic rock types in fossil forearcs, whether they are at the front of mature subduction zones or in ophiolites. Y1 - 2019/02 PB - Elsevier Science Bv JF - Earth And Planetary Science Letters SN - 0012-821X VL - 508 SP - 30 EP - 40 ID - 58422 ER -