Western Pacific double subduction drives Gulf of California rifting.

Western Pacific double subduction initiation coincides with rapid Gulf of California oblique rift (GOCOR) rifting ~6–8 million years ago, linked to transmitted extensional stresses of ~5–15 MPa.

• Why it matters: Breakup timing in continental rifts is debated, and the mechanism behind rapid GOCOR rifting—whether external kinematics or acceleration of long-lived extension—remains unclear.
• What they did: Three-dimensional geodynamic models test how Western Pacific subduction reorganization affects stress transfer, quantifying extensional loading transmitted across the Pacific plate.
• The result: The models show subduction reorganization can load the GOCOR and the southern San Andreas fault with ~5–15 MPa, suggesting a missing driver in a preconditioned lithosphere.

AI summary of the abstract · may contain errors · not medical advice · read the paper.