Upper plate deformation and trench retreat modulated by subduction-driven shallow asthenospheric flows

Upper plate deformation within a subduction zone depends on the complex relationship between surface plate motions, trench motion, slab pull and asthenospheric flow. Previous modelling studies suggest that trench motion rates should be related to slab buoyancy, but this relationship is neither clear nor verified by observations of natural subduction systems. Trench motion is also thought to induce upper plate deformation; however, no clear...