The Style of Tyrrhenian Subduction

Momentum and energy equations are solved simultaneously for an incompressible viscous fluid in order to model the changes in the shape of a subducted slab when active convergence between the subducting and overriding plates comes to the end and slab pull becomes the dominant tectonic mechanism. This model can be applied to the Tyrrhenian domain, where it has been suggested that active convergence terminated about 7-9 Myr ago. When the shape of the modelled slab is compared with the seismogenic portion of the subducted Ionian lithosphere in the Tyrrhenian, the results are consistent with subduction driven by slab pull and with cessation of active convergence between 7-9 Myr before present.