Dataset for numerical modeling to investigate plume-plateau subduction initiation

This data publication is supplementary material to the paper " Subduction initiation by plume-plateau interaction: Insights from numerical models" (Baes et al., 2020). In this study, using 3-d numerical models, we explore the effect of relative distance of plume head and plateau edge, age of the lithosphere and strength of the lower crust on plume-induced subduction initiation. We use I3ELVIS code which solves the momentum, continuity and energy equations based on a staggered finite difference scheme combined with a marker-in-cell technique (Gerya, 2010; Gerya et al., 2015; Baes et al., 2016). Our numerical results show four different responses (shown in Figures 2-5 in the paper of Baes et al, 2020) that are: (a) oceanic trench formation, (b) circular plateau-oceanic trench formation, (c) plateau trench formation and (d) no trench formation. The results of models in which plume head is far away from the plateau edge are compatible with the outcomes of models with uniform lithospheres. The current data set contains the figures of five models representing five different deformation regimes (shown in Fig. 7 in the paper), which result from interaction of a plume with a homogenous lithosphere. Note that in all figures the upper panels show the logarithm of viscosity within the lithosphere. The middle and lower panels illustrate compositional field of a 2d cross-section cutting through center of model and surface topography, respectively. The color bars of temperature field and surface topography are shown at the top of the figure and colour code of compositional field is at bottom of the figure.