Fig. 2: Tomotectonic analysis of the southwestern Pangea margin.
From: Catastrophic slab loss in southwestern Pangea preserved in the mantle and igneous record
Mantle tomography slices of the UU-P07 seismic tomography model45, showing the Georgia Islands and São Francisco slabs43 at a ca. 280 Ma, b ca. 245 Ma, and c ca. 225 Ma considering a lower mantle slab sinking rate of 1 cm/year38,40,42,52,55,56. Overlaid are plate reconstructions46 at a 280 and 260 Ma, b 245 Ma, and c 225 Ma. Dotted red line indicates a high-velocity discontinuity interpreted as a major slab gap along the southwestern Pangea margin. d High-velocity vote map stacking 26 global seismic tomography models at 2600 km with overlapped plate reconstructions46 showing the consistency of the lower mantle structure and the high-velocity discontinuity along-strike the reconstructed southwestern Pangea margin. Thick solid lines labeled with ages west of South America in a–d represent reconstructed trench positions after the restoration of Cenozoic Andean shortening46. GI Georgia Islands slab, SF São Francisco slab. e Cross-sections of the UU-P07 tomography model indicating the area with a missing slab record. See profiles location in a.
