The life cycle of subcontinental peridotites: From rifted continental margins to mountains via subduction processes

Serpentinization greatly affects the physical and chemical properties of lithospheric mantle. Here we address the fate of serpentinized peridotites and their influence over an entire Wilson cycle. We document the near-surface journey of serpentinized subcontinental peridotites exhumed during rifting and continental breakup, reactivated as buoyant material during subduction, and ultimately emplaced as “ophiolite-like” fragments within orogenic belts. This life cycle is particularly well documented in former Tethys margins, where recent studies describe the ongoing incorporation of Mesozoic serpentinized subcontinental peridotites that diapirically rise from a subducting lower plate’s mantle to be emplaced into the accretionary prism in front of a continental arc. This newly recognized mode of subduction-linked serpentine diapirism from the downgoing lithospheric slab is consistent with the origin of some exhumed serpentinized subcontinental peridotites in the Apennines (Italy), these assemblages reaching their present locations during Alpine orogenesis. Transfer of serpentinized subcontinental peridotites from the downgoing to the overriding plate motivates the concept of a potentially “leaky” subduction channel. Weak serpentine bodies may in fact rise into, preferentially migrate within, and eventually leave the intraplate shear zone, leading to strong lateral heterogeneities in its composition and mechanical strength.