A tectonic pulse triggered by mantle injection through a torn slab

The Aegean and Western Anatolian region has experienced active tectonics over the last ∼40 Myr, including lithospheric extension, migrating arc volcanism, and microplate rotation, primarily driven by subduction. Recent seismic and geological data have revealed a major tear between the subducted Aegean and Cyprus slabs that initiated ∼15 Ma. Here, we show that rapid mantle injection through this slab breach produced a transient pulse of surface uplift above the tear using 3D numerical modeling with analyses of geological and geophysical data. Toroidal flow and mantle upwelling through the breach also enhances lithospheric extension, and heating of the lithosphere sufficient to induce partial melting. This dynamic process accounts for a short-lived but widespread uplift phase recorded in the western Taurides and Aegean, as well as changes in extension direction, from NE-SW in Anatolia to N-S near the Aegean trench, and migrating volcanism. Our findings reveal how slab tearing and the consequent mantle injection flow can drive rapid and transient surface expressions in an active plate boundary system, offering an explanation for tectonic, magmatic, and uplift across the region.