Processes taking place in subduction zones are the main controller of the chemical cycle of volatile and incompatible elements in the Earth system. Meta morphic devolatilization reactions occurring during slab… Click to show full abstract
Processes taking place in subduction zones are the main controller of the chemical cycle of volatile and incompatible elements in the Earth system. Meta morphic devolatilization reactions occurring during slab burial play a key role in the transfer of elements to the supra-subduction mantle, from forearc to sub-arc depth. Here, we discuss the elements released in fluids and melts from oceanic (i.e., sediments, altered oceanic crust, and hydrated lithospheric mantle) and continental slab materials during prograde subduction and the consequent implications in the chemical evolution of the supra-subduction mantle. We use bulk data and fluid and melt inclusions analyses to show and to constrain the mobility of elements from top to bottom in the subduction zone setting. The development of mélange domains at the slab-mantle interface and its influence in the element cycle are also taken into account. Coupled with trace-element mobility, we review the redox evolution of slab materials during subduction and its implication in the redox conditions of the supra-subduction mantle due to fluid and melt infiltration down to sub-arc depth.
               
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