A new type of intra-plate volcanism; young alkali-basalts discovered from the subducting Pacific Plate, Northern Japan Trench

Alkali pillow basalts were collected from the toe of the oceanward slope of the northern Japan Trench. These alkali-basalts formed as a result of a low degree of partial melting of Pacific Ocean mantle and rapid rise of the magma (no fractionation in shallow magma chambers). Reconstructing Pacific Plate motion based on ⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar age dates of 5.95±0.31 Ma for these basalts indicates that they erupted outboard of outer swell or forebulge of the Japan Trench in the NW Pacific. We suggest that these alkali-basalts represent a new form of intra-plate volcanism, whereby magmatic activity occurs off the forebulge of the downgoing Pacific slab, perhaps using conduits related to fracturing of the slab during bending prior to subduction.