{"doi":"10.1002/2015gl063057","title":"Ridge subduction sparked reorganization of the Pacific plate‐mantle system 60–50 million years ago","abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>A reorganization centered on the Pacific plate occurred ~53–47 million years ago. A “top‐down” plate tectonic mechanism, complete subduction of the Izanagi plate, as opposed to a “bottom‐up” mantle flow mechanism, has been proposed as the main driver. Verification based on marine geophysical observations is impossible as most ocean crust recording this event has been subducted. Using a forward modeling approach, which assimilates surface plate velocities and shallow thermal structure of slabs into mantle flow models, we show that complete Izanagi plate subduction and margin‐wide slab detachment induced a major change in sub‐Pacific mantle flow, from dominantly southward before 60 Ma to north‐northeastward after 50 Ma. Our results agree with onshore geology, mantle tomography, and the inferred motion of the Hawaiian hot spot and are consistent with a plate tectonic process driving the rapid plate‐mantle reorganization in the Pacific hemisphere between 60 and 50 Ma. This reorganization is reflected in tectonic changes in the Pacific and surrounding ocean basins.</jats:p>","journal":"Geophysical Research Letters","year":2015,"id":19319,"datarank":5.1384971888466815,"base_score":5.407171771460119,"endowment":5.407171771460119,"self_citation_contribution":0.811075765719018,"citation_network_contribution":4.327421423127664,"self_endowment_contribution":0.811075765719018,"citer_contribution":4.327421423127664,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":222,"citer_count":195,"citers_with_citation_signal":172,"citers_with_endowment":172,"datacite_reuse_total":2,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":null,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":false,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":null,"fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":131300,"name":"Nicolas Flament","orcid":null,"position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":131301,"name":"Joanne Whittaker","orcid":null,"position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":131302,"name":"R. Dietmar Müller","orcid":null,"position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":131303,"name":"Michael Gurnis","orcid":null,"position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":131304,"name":"Dan J. Bower","orcid":null,"position":5,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":131299,"name":"Maria Seton","orcid":null,"position":0,"is_corresponding":false}],"reference_count":0,"raw_metadata":{"has_enrichment":true,"base_score":5.407171771460119,"endowment":5.407171771460119,"datacite_reuse_total":2,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"views":0,"has_version_chain":false,"is_dataset":false,"is_oa":false,"pmid":"21071399","pmcid":null,"openalex_id":"https://openalex.org/W1856945284","authors":[],"funders":[{"funder_name":"Australian Research Council","grant_id":"DP0987713 (M.S.)","title":null},{"funder_name":"Australian Research Council","grant_id":"FL0992245 (R.D.M.)","title":null},{"funder_name":"Australian Research Council","grant_id":"DE14100376 (J.W.)","title":null},{"funder_name":"ASA industry research","grant_id":"ARC IH130200012","title":null},{"funder_name":"National Science Foundation","grant_id":"EAR-1247022","title":null},{"funder_name":"National Science Foundation","grant_id":"CMMI-1028978","title":null}],"total_grants":6,"fwci":14.1888,"citation_percentile":0.99412888,"influential_citations":14,"citation_trend":[{"year":2015,"count":5},{"year":2016,"count":12},{"year":2017,"count":12},{"year":2018,"count":21},{"year":2019,"count":15},{"year":2020,"count":24},{"year":2021,"count":33},{"year":2022,"count":26},{"year":2023,"count":30},{"year":2024,"count":16},{"year":2025,"count":23},{"year":2026,"count":5}],"oa_status":"bronze","license":"cc-by","oa_locations":[{"url":"https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1002/2015GL063057","host_type":"journal"},{"url":"https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1002/2015GL063057","host_type":"BRONZE"},{"url":"https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1002/2015GL063057","host_type":"publisher"},{"url":"https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2F2015GL063057","host_type":"publisher"},{"url":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/2015GL063057","host_type":"publisher"},{"url":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/2015GL063057","host_type":"publisher"},{"url":"https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/2015GL063057","host_type":"publisher"},{"url":"https://doi.org/10.1002/2015gl063057","host_type":"journal"},{"url":"https://authors.library.caltech.edu/57562/","host_type":"repository"},{"url":"http://ecite.utas.edu.au/99194","host_type":"repository"},{"url":"https://ro.uow.edu.au/smhpapers/4200","host_type":"repository"},{"url":"https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Ridge_subduction_sparked_reorganization_of_the_Pacific_plate-mantle_system_60-50_million_years_ago/22922759","host_type":"repository"}],"fields_of_study":["Geological and Geochemical Analysis","High-pressure geophysics and materials","earthquake and tectonic studies","Geology","Environmental Science"],"mesh_terms":[],"keywords":["Geology","Subduction","Mantle (geology)","Plate tectonics","Slab window","Mid-ocean ridge","Pacific Plate","Oceanic crust","Seismology","Seamount","Mantle wedge","Hotspot (geology)","Geophysics","Tectonics","Convergent boundary","Volcanic arc","North American Plate","Mantle convection","Transition zone","Paleontology"],"sdg_mappings":[{"sdg_number":0,"sdg_label":"Life below water"}],"linked_datasets":[{"doi":"10.6084/m9.figshare.19759530.v1","title":"Additional file 1 of Mitochondrial composition of and diffusion limiting factors of three social wasp genera Polistes, Ropalidia, and parapolybia (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)","publisher":"figshare","resource_type":"JournalArticle"},{"doi":"10.6084/m9.figshare.19759530","title":"Additional file 1 of Mitochondrial composition of and diffusion limiting factors of three social wasp genera Polistes, Ropalidia, and parapolybia (Hymenoptera: Vespidae)","publisher":"figshare","resource_type":"JournalArticle"}],"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"database_accessions":[],"source":"live","citation_network_status":"fetched"},"created_at":"2026-06-04T03:15:03.501696Z","pmid":null,"pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}