Curvature of convergent boundaries

Abstract It is well known that knowledge about convergent boundary geometry is crucial for global geodynamical reconstructions. At the same time, views related to the subject are controversial and speculative. For instance, island arcs, which are considered to be the most important convergent boundary structural elements, are thought to be either the parts of the small circles on the Earth's surface, or adjacent to each other as straight‐line segments. Accordingly, one view says that island arcs are rectilinear rather than arched, and there are no reasons to consider their arched shape to be a rule. Is the island arc curvature invariant in time and space? General considerations, palaeomagnetic data and structural features such as strike‐slip displacements of the opposite sign along the longitudinal faults on the island arc flanks, prompt the author to have a similar view to others, that is, that island arc curvature varies with time. It is worthy to note, nevertheless, that this statement could hardly be referred to as generally adopted, and it is not necessarily true. One can try to answer the second part of the question by means of mathematical statistics. Points of an island arc characterizing the geometry, such as volcanic centres or deep‐trench axial line points, were led to the stereographical projection centre, where distortions are minimal. By the least squares method these points have been approximated with straight lines, circumferences and lines with variable curvature. Then by means of variance analysis the competing hypotheses have been compared. The results of the present study show that the curvature of the island arcs in the north‐western Pacific varies with location. It is possible to search for relationships between island arc curvature as a measure of its bending, various physical parameters of island arc lithosphere and such recent island arc processes as volcanism, seismicity etc. Progress in this direction has already been made; namely a direct relationship between trench depth and island arc curvature has been established.