Upper Plate Stress Controls the Distribution of Mariana Arc Volcanoes

We present a spatial analysis of volcano distribution and morphology in the young, intraoceanic Mariana Arc. Both the quality of fit to idealized models and the divergence from those ideals indicate that Mariana Arc volcanoes are arranged into five great circle segments, rather than a single small circle or multiple small circles. The alignment of magmatic centers suggests that magma transport is controlled by the stress regime in the deep crust...