Alaska Subduction Zone

I conduct research in the forearc of the Alaska subduction zone to investigate the behaviors of the subduction interface and upper-plate structures.

I invoke low-temperature thermochronology, thermal-history modeling and active fault mapping to reveal the forearc exhumation histories in geological timescale and its relationship with active structures. I find that the active forearc upper-plate fault, Kodiak Shelf Fault, may have been active for 6-7 Ma. The new data records a transition from previously recognized underplating to a newly recognized out-of-sequence thrusting in the thickening mechanisms of the Kodiak Islands. The work also predicts the deep geometry of the Kodiak Shelf Fault and discusses how upper-plate architecture may control splay fault development and long-term activity.

The work is published on Earth and Planetary Science Letters (Fan et al., 2025). The main findings were presented at the AGU Fall Meeting 2023 (poster below).