Adakite

Adakites are intermediate to felsic volcanic rocks that have geochemical characteristics of magma thought to have formed by partial melting of the altered basalt that is subducted below volcanic arcs. Most magmas derived in subduction zones come from the mantle above the subducting plate when hydrous fluids are released from minerals that break down in the metamorphosed basalt, rise into the mantle, and initiate partial melting. However, Defant and Drummond recognized that when young oceanic crust (less than 25 millions years old) is subducted, adakites are typically produced in the arc. They postulated that when young oceanic crust is subducted it is "warmer" (closer to the mid-ocean ridge where it formed) than crust that is typically subducted. The warmer crust enables melting of the metamorphosed subducted basalt rather than the mantle above. Experimental work by several researchers has verified the geochemical characteristics of "slab melts" and the contention that melts can form from young and therefore warmer crust in subduction zones.