Subduction is a major process that plays a first-order role in the dynamics of the Earth. The sinking of cold lithosphere into the mantle is thought by many authors to be the most important source of energy for plates driving forces. It also deeply modifies the thermal and chemical structure of the mantle, producing arc volcanism and is responsible for the release of most of the seismic energy on Earth. There has been considerable achievements done during the past decades regarding the complex interactions between the various processes acting in subduction zones. This volume contains a collection of contributions that were presented in June 2007 in Montpellier (France) during a conference that gave a state of the art panorama and discussed the perspectives about "Subduction Zone Geodynamics". The papers included in this special volume offer a unique multidisciplinary picture of the recent research on subduction zones geodynamics. They are organized into five main topics: Subduction zone geodynamics, Seismic tomography and anisotropy, Great subduction zone earthquakes, Seismogenic zone characterization, Continental and ridge subduction processes. Each of the 13 papers collected in the present volume is primarily concerned with one of these topics. However, it is important to highlight that papers always treat more than one topic so that all are related lighting on different aspects of the complex and fascinating subduction zones geodynamics.

Inhalt
Subduction Zone Geodynamics.- A Review of the Role of Subduction Dynamics for Regional and Global Plate Motions.- Subduction with Variations in Slab Buoyancy: Models and Application to the Banda and Apennine Systems.- Continental Collision and the STEP-wise Evolution of Convergent Plate Boundaries: From Structure to Dynamics.- Seismic Tomography and Anisotropy.- Seismic Anisotropy of Subduction Zone MineralsContribution of Hydrous Phases.- Local Earthquake Tomography in the Southern Tyrrhenian Region of Italy: Geophysical and Petrological Inferences on the Subducting Lithosphere.- Great Subduction Zone Earthquakes.- Effect of Subducting Seafloor Topography on the Rupture Characteristics of Great Subduction Zone Earthquakes.- Great Earthquakes in Slow-Subduction, Low-Taper Margins.- Seismogenic Zone Characterization.- Convergent Margin Structure in High-Quality Geophysical Images and Current Kinematic and Dynamic Models.- Imaging Interseismic Locking at the Nankai Subduction Zone, Southwest Japan.- Continental and Ridge Subduction Processes.- Exhumation Processes in Oceanic and Continental Subduction Contexts: A Review.- Evolution of Subductions Indicated by Mélanges in Taiwan.- Subduction of an Active Spreading Ridge Beneath Southern South America: A Review of the Cenozoic Geological Records from the Andean Foreland, Central Patagonia (4647°S).- Configuration of the Colombian Caribbean Margin: Constraints from 2D Seismic Reflection data and Potential Fields Interpretation.