Subduction zone geodynamics / Геодинамика зон субдукции

Subduction is a major process that plays a first-order role in the dynamics of the Earth. The sinking of cold lithosphere into the mantle is thought by many authors to be the most important source of energy for plates driving forces. It also deeply modifies the thermal and chemical structure of the mantle, producing arc volcanism, and is responsible for the release of most of the seismic energy on Earth. There have been considerable achievements done during the past decades regarding the complex interactions between the various processes acting in subduction zones. This volume contains a collection of contributions that were presented in June 2007 in Montpellier (France) during a conference that gave a state of the art panorama and discussed the perspectives about “Subduction Zone Geodynamics”. The conference was held under the patronage of the “Société Géologique de France” in the frame of the International Year of Planet Earth sponsored by UNESCO and the International Union of Geological Sciences. During the conference, a volume of 172 abstracts has been published in the “Mémoires Géosciences Montpellier” vol. 41 (2007) and is available at Géosciences Montpellier Laboratory (http://www.gm.univ-montp2.fr). Twelve keynotes launched the discussion on the following topics: Geodynamics and Physical Models (S. Sobolev and T. Becker), Geodesy, Seismogenic Zone and Seismic Hazard (W. Thatcher and S. Das), Seismology (D. Zhao and P. Silver), Structure and Tectonics (R. von Huene and R. Wortel), Geochemistry and Metamorphism (Y. Tatsumi and S. Guillot), and Petrology and Mineral Physics (M. Schmidt and H. Green). We favoured the multidisciplinary approach to debate on remaining key questions. <...>