Subduction initiation is a cornerstone of the Wilson cycle. It marks the turning point in an ocean's lifetime, allowing its lithosphere to be recycled into the mantle. However, formation of new subduction zones in Atlantic-type oceans is challenging, given that it commonly involves the action of an external force, such as the slab pull from a nearby subduction zone, a far-field compression, or the impact of a plume. Notwithstanding, the Atlantic already has two subduction zones, the Lesser Antilles and the Scotia arcs. These subduction zones have been forced from the nearby Pacific subduction zones. The Gibraltar arc is another place where a subduction zone is invading the Atlantic. This corresponds to a direct migration of a subduction zone that developed in the closing Mediterranean Basin. Nevertheless, few authors consider the Gibraltar subduction to be still active because it has significantly slowed down in the past millions of years. Here, we use new gravity-driven geodynamic models that reproduce the evolution of the Western Mediterranean, show how the Gibraltar arc formed, and test if it is still active. The results suggest that the arc will propagate further into the Atlantic after a period of quiescence. The models also show how a subduction zone starting in a closing ocean (Ligurian Ocean) can migrate into a new opening ocean (Atlantic) through a narrow oceanic corridor. Subduction invasion is likely a common mechanism of subduction initiation in Atlantic-type oceans and a fundamental process in the recent geological evolution of Earth.

中文翻译：

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直布罗陀俯冲带正在侵入大西洋

俯冲起始是威尔逊旋回的基石。它标志着海洋生命周期的转折点，使其岩石圈得以循环进入地幔。然而，在大西洋型海洋中形成新的俯冲带具有挑战性，因为它通常涉及外力的作用，例如来自附近俯冲带的板块拉力、远场压缩或羽流的影响。尽管如此，大西洋已经有两个俯冲带：小安的列斯群岛和斯科舍岛弧。这些俯冲带是从附近的太平洋俯冲带被迫而来的。直布罗陀岛弧是俯冲带侵入大西洋的另一个地方。这对应于地中海盆地闭合时形成的俯冲带的直接迁移。然而，很少有作者认为直布罗陀俯冲仍然活跃，因为它在过去数百万年里明显减慢了速度。在这里，我们使用新的重力驱动的地球动力学模型来重现西地中海的演化，展示直布罗陀弧是如何形成的，并测试它是否仍然活跃。结果表明，经过一段时间的静止后，电弧将进一步传播到大西洋。这些模型还显示了从闭合海洋（利古里亚洋）开始的俯冲带如何通过狭窄的海洋走廊迁移到新的开放海洋（大西洋）。俯冲侵入可能是大西洋型海洋俯冲起始的常见机制，也是地球近期地质演化的基本过程。