Ophiolitic rocks in the Coast Ranges of California show many similarities to modern ophiolitic forearcs such as in the Marianas, where large-scale normal faults cause catastrophic landsliding into the trench and there are giant serpentinite mud volcanoes. Observed processes in modern ophiolitic forearcs suggest that large volumes of oceanic material can be transferred from the forearc into the subduction complex and from the subducting plate into forearc. This study will examine the Mesozoic ophiolitic rocks in the Coast Ranges and compare them to rocks in the Mariana forearc to better understand the processes of formation and modification of forearc crust. The results of this work will have importance for tectonic processes in subduction zones.
