The Aegean and Western Anatolian region has been undergoing widespread extension since the Middle Eocene with southward migration of arc volcanism and counterclockwise plate rotation. Based on seismic data, a major tear has been interpreted between the subducted Aegean and Cyprus slabs. It may be expected that a tear in the slab like this would disrupt local mantle flow, but the influence on surface observables such as surface topography, deformation, and magmatism from a torn subducting plate are not well understood. In this study, we build 3D geodynamic models to investigate the effects of the tear-induced mantle flow on the overlying plate in the western Anatolian and Aegean region. Our model results show that the tear-induced mantle flow aligns closely with various geophysical observations, revealing a counterclockwise toroidal flow beneath Western Anatolia. The slab tearing induces rapid transient mantle upwelling, leading to a dynamic topographical uplift of the surface. It also provides influx of hot asthenosphere from behind the slab, promoting partial melting that could lead to surface magmatism. The model determines that the overlying continent is under extension and the extension direction transitions from NE-SW in the Western Anatolian to N-S towards the Aegean trench. This also matches with the surface geological observations. Our model results provide explanation of the observed geological anomalies in the Aegean and western Anatolia and provide insights into how slab discontinuities manifest in surface expressions.
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