Crustal growth and recycling during continental collision

There is general consensus that the major site of continental crustal generation is at convergent plate margins, with only ~10% of crustal generation occurring in continental collision zones. It is also apparent, however, that the rate of crustal recycling into the mantle at convergent margins is almost identical (possibly greater) than the rate of crustal generation in this setting. In addition, recent studies have highlighted that the crustal recycling rate may have been overestimated and the crustal generation rate may have been underestimated in collision zones (Couzinié et al., 2016). This hypothesis has important implications for our understanding of Phanerozoic crustal evolution and the impacts on areas as diverse as mineral deposit formation to the evolution of the oceans and atmosphere.

The eastern Mediterranean represents an ideal natural laboratory to test this hypothesis as there is an extensive geochemical data set for well-dated magmatic rocks from the Cretaceous to Recent that documents the tectonic evolution of the region from convergent margin to continental collision (e.g. Palmer et al., 2019). In addition, long-established partnerships with Turkish geologists from Dokuz-Eylul University will provide access to an extensive sample set that will allow the student to undertake novel whole-rock and zircon analyses.