Origin of Philippine Sea Basins During Subduction Initiation in the Western Pacific

Abstract Understanding the age and dynamics of the overriding plates allows an assessment of competing subduction initiation hypotheses. The Izu‐Bonin‐Mariana margin in the Western Pacific is a key example of initiation and hence it is important to constrain the age and origin of the oldest igneous crust of the supra‐subduction Philippine Sea Plate. We present geochronological and geochemical data of igneous rocks from the oldest ocean basins of the Philippine Sea Plate: the West Philippine and Palau Basins. Basalts from these basins have enriched geochemical characteristics similar to the EM‐2‐like mantle component found in OIB‐like basalts associated with the Oki‐Daito mantle plume. Ages of basalts from the northernmost West Philippine Basin (WPB) and the Palau Basin range from 43.5 to 50.5 Ma, which is similar to the oldest samples associated with the Oki‐Daito mantle plume (48–50 Ma). This implies that the plume contributed to magmatism from the onset of basin formation. It also provides support for the proposition that rifting of the Mesozoic arc terrane and subsequent seafloor spreading of the WPB was triggered by the arrival of the Oki‐Daito mantle plume at the base of the lithosphere. The age of these Philippine Sea Basins implies that only the Mesozoic Daito Ridge Group and the Gagua Ridge existed as Philippine Sea Plate crust before subduction initiation. A major fault activity after 37 Ma in the northernmost WPB demonstrates that careful reconstruction of the Eocene Philippine Sea Plate is critical to understanding plate dynamics during subduction initiation in the Western Pacific.