Subduction - Wikipedia Subduction is possible because the cold and rigid oceanic lithosphere is slightly denser than the underlying asthenosphere, the hot, ductile layer in the upper mantle Once initiated, stable subduction is driven mostly by the negative buoyancy of the dense subducting lithosphere
Subduction: The Sinking of Tectonic Plates - ThoughtCo Subduction, Latin for "carried under," is a term used for a specific type of plate interaction It happens when one lithospheric plate meets another—that is, in convergent zones —and the denser plate sinks down into the mantle Continents are made up of rocks that are too buoyant to be carried much farther than about 100 kilometers deep
Subduction zone | Plate Tectonics, Oceanic Crust Volcanism - Britannica New seafloor is generated from the upper mantle at the mid-oceanic ridges, spreads laterally outward, and is eventually subducted, or consumed, at the margins of ocean basins Subduction may also occur between two regions of oceanic crust, with older, denser sections underthrusting younger, less-dense ones
Whats a Subduction Zone? Everyone in the Pacific NW Should Know Subduction zones occur at convergent plate boundaries where two tectonic plates meet and one dives beneath the other Volcano activity at subduction zone A dense oceanic plate will be forced under a more buoyant plate (often a continental plate) and sinks into the mantle
What Is a Subduction Zone? - Live Science When two tectonic plates meet at a subduction zone and one slides underneath the other, this lithosphere material curves down into the hot mantle This subduction process frequently occurs
Subduction Zone: Definition, Features, Types - Geology In A subduction zone is a region of the Earth's crust where two tectonic plates meet, and one plate is forced beneath the other into the mantle This process, called subduction, occurs at convergent boundaries and is a primary mechanism driving plate tectonics, leading to volcanic activity, earthquakes, and mountain formation
Plates Subduct – Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution When ocean plates collide, one subducts beneath the other, forming trenches and causing molten rock to rise, creating volcanic mountains or island arcs like Japan or the Andes