What is subduction in geology?

What is a subduction simple definition?

Definition of subduction

: the action or process in plate tectonics of the edge of one crustal plate descending below the edge of another.

What is subduction and what causes it?

Subduction occurs when two plates collide at a convergent boundary, and one plate is driven beneath the other, back into the Earth’s interior. Not all convergence leads to subduction. Continental rocks are too buoyant to be forced downward, so when continents collide, they crumple but stay at the surface.

What is an example subduction?

Subduction is the process that destroys old lithosphere. An oceanic plate can descend beneath another oceanic plate – Japan, Indonesia, and the Aleutian Islands are examples of this type of subduction.

What is called lithosphere define it?

The lithosphere is the rocky outer part of the Earth. It is made up of the brittle crust and the top part of the upper mantle. The lithosphere is the coolest and most rigid part of the Earth.

What does Subdictive mean?

Subductive definition

Filters. (geology) Of, related to, or caused by tectonic plate subduction. adjective.

What is subduction in plate tectonic?

When tectonic plates converge, one plate slides beneath the other plate, or subducts, descending into the Earth’s mantle at rates of 2-8 centimeters (1–3 inches) per year.

What is another word for subduction?

What is another word for subduction?

How does subduction lead to volcanic activity?

At a subduction zone an oceanic crust is pushed under the continental crust. As the oceanic crust is pushed under the continental crust it is subjected to heat and pressure. The heat and pressure causes the crust to melt and become magma. … When the magma reaches the surface it creates a volcano.

How does subduction cause volcanoes and earthquakes?

Subduction zones are plate tectonic boundaries where two plates converge, and one plate is thrust beneath the other. This process results in geohazards, such as earthquakes and volcanoes.

Where are subduction zones on Earth?

Subduction zones occur all around the edge of the Pacific Ocean, offshore of Washington, Canada, Alaska, Russia, Japan and Indonesia. Called the “Ring of Fire,” these subduction zones are responsible for the world’s biggest earthquakes, the most terrible tsunamis and some of the worst volcanic eruptions.

How do you identify subduction?

Subduction is a geological process in which the oceanic lithosphere is recycled into the Earth’s mantle at convergent boundaries. Where the oceanic lithosphere of a tectonic plate converges with the less dense lithosphere of a second plate, the heavier plate dives beneath the second plate and sinks into the mantle.