What happens during a subduction?

What happens during a subduction?

Where two tectonic plates meet at a subduction zone, one bends and slides underneath the other, curving down into the mantle. (The mantle is the hotter layer under the crust.) At a subduction zone, the oceanic crust usually sinks into the mantle beneath lighter continental crust.

What is subduction and why does it occur?

Subduction occurs when two plates collide at a convergent boundary, and one plate is driven beneath the other, back into the Earth’s interior. Only oceanic plates, which are topped with basalt, are dense enough to sink into the mantle. As a result, only oceanic plates are subducted.

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 called lithosphere define it?

The lithosphere is the solid, outer part of the Earth. The lithosphere includes the brittle upper portion of the mantle and the crust, the outermost layers of Earth’s structure. The lithosphere is far less ductile than the asthenosphere.

What is an example of a 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. These are the places where deep earthquakes occur, generated as the old lithosphere sinks into the mantle.

How can you tell which plate is subducting?

Where two tectonic plates converge, if one or both of the plates is oceanic lithosphere, a subduction zone will form. An oceanic plate will sink back into the mantle. Remember, oceanic plates are formed from mantle material at midocean ridges.

What is the hottest layer of the earth?

the inner core
The core is the hottest, densest part of the Earth. Although the inner core is mostly NiFe, the iron catastrophe also drove heavy siderophile elements to the center of the Earth.

What forms when subduction occurs?

A subduction zone forms when continental crust and oceanic crust collide. The continental crust is thicker and more buoyant than the oceanic crust so the oceanic crust subducts beneath the continental crust.

How and why does subduction occur?

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.

Where is subduction most likely to occur?

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.

What does subduction result in?

Subduction often results in spectacular natural geographic phenomena. Geological subduction is exemplified by the Himalayan Mountains , the earthquakes of the American Pacific coast and the volcanic activity that gave rise to the island of Japan. Subduction is one of the most immense physical processes on Earth,…