The mechanisms underlying the deformation and eventual destruction of Earth’s cratons remain enigmatic, despite proposed links to subduction and deep mantle plume processes. Here we study the deformation of the North China Craton using four-dimensional mantle flow models of the plate–mantle system since the late Mesozoic, integrating constraints from lithospheric deformation, mantle seismic tomography and the evolution of surface topography. We find that flat-slab subduction induced landward shortening and lithospheric thickening, while subsequent flat-slab rollback caused seaward extension and lithospheric thinning. Both subduction phases resulted in substantial topographic changes in basin sediments. Rapid flat-slab rollback, coupled with a viscosity jump and phase change across the 660 km mantle discontinuity, was a key ingredient in shaping a large mantle wedge. We argue that craton deformation through lithospheric extension and thinning was triggered by the subduction of a flat slab and its subsequent rollback. The integration of data into mechanical models provides insights into the four-dimensional dynamic interplay involving subduction, mantle processes, craton deformation and topography.

尽管有人提出与俯冲和深部地幔柱过程有关，但地球克拉通变形和最终破坏的机制仍然是个谜。本文利用晚中生代以来板块-地幔系统四维地幔流模型，综合岩石圈形变、地幔地震层析成像和地表地形演化的约束，研究华北克拉通的变形。我们发现平板俯冲引起向陆缩短和岩石圈增厚，而随后的平板回滚导致向海延伸和岩石圈减薄。两个俯冲阶段都导致盆地沉积物发生显着的地形变化。快速的平板回滚，加上跨越 660 公里地幔不连续面的粘度跳跃和相变，是形成大型地幔楔的关键因素。我们认为，通过岩石圈伸展和减薄而发生的克拉通变形是由平板俯冲及其随后的回滚引发的。将数据集成到力学模型中可以深入了解涉及俯冲、地幔过程、克拉通变形和地形的四维动态相互作用。