Mélange formation by subduction erosion: the case of the Osa mélange in southern Costa Rica

The convergent plate margin off the Osa peninsula in southern Costa Rica is characterized by the indentation of the Cocos ridge at 4–5 Ma. The indentation causes the uplift of the Osa mélange which we interpret to represent an exhumed major channel for the transport of tectonically eroded material down into the subduction zone. We present evidence that, similar to the Nicoya segment of the Costa Rica convergent margin, subduction erosion rather than accretion has been the dominant process along the plate boundary. The composition of the Osa mélange is dominated by tectonized material of the upper‐plate Nicoya ophiolite complex (basalt, radiolarite, limestone). Strong deformation is concentrated in numerous discrete shear zones and produced the layered fabric of large rock volumes, which partly experienced temperatures > 200°C. We thus interpret the Osa mélange to be a product of subduction erosion at the base of the outer arc wedge structure.