In our conceptual model, buoyant magmatic rocks generated at arcs are subducted. Then, upon heating at depth, they ascend and are relaminated at the base of the overlying crust. A review of the average compositions of buoyant magmatic rocks — lavas and plutons — sampled from the Aleutians, Izu–Bonin–Marianas, Kohistan and Talkeetna arcs reveals that they fall within the range of estimated major and trace elements in lower continental crust. Relamination may thus provide an efficient process for generating lower continental crust.
