Constraints on bend‐faulting and mantle hydration at the Marianas Trench from seismic anisotropy

Abstract

Subduction zones are a key link between the surface water cycle and the solid Earth, as the incoming plate carries pore water and hydrous minerals into the subsurface. However, water fluxes from surface to subsurface reservoirs over geologic time are highly uncertain because the volume of water carried in hydrous minerals in the slab mantle is poorly constrained. Estimates of slab mantle hydration based on seismic tomography assume bulk serpentinization, representing an upper bound on water volume. We measure azimuthal seismic anisotropy near the Marianas Trench, use spatial variations in anisotropy to constrain the extent and geometry of bend‐related faulting, and place a lower bound on slab mantle water content for the case where serpentinization is confined within fault zones. The seismic observations can be explained by a minimum of ∼0.85 wt% water in the slab mantle, compared to the upper bound of ∼2 wt% obtained from tomography.