Where does the process of subduction occur?
Subduction is a geological process that takes place at convergent boundaries of tectonic plates where one plate moves under another and is forced to sink due to high gravitational potential energy into the mantle. Regions where this process occurs are known as subduction zones.
What happens at a subduction zone?
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 do you mean by subduction zone?
The subduction zone is the place where two lithospheric plates come together, one riding over the other. Most volcanoes on land occur parallel to and inland from the boundary between the two plates.
Why are subduction zones important?
Subduction zones are important for several reasons: Subduction zones drag down subducted oceanic sediments, oceanic crust, and mantle lithosphere that interact with the hot asthenospheric mantle from the over-riding plate to produce calc-alkaline series melts, ore deposits, and continental crust.
What is the difference between subduction and accretion?
explain the difference between subduction and accretion and the significance of each. accretion- is where the continental and oceanic plates meet. both- include Earth and subduction tells how far that specific plate goes and accretion meets together. How does plate tectonics affect Earth’s surface?
What would happen if Earth’s plates didn’t move?
Erosion would continue to wear the mountains down, but with no tectonic activity to refresh them, over a few million years they would erode down to low rolling hills. If the plates stopped moving, the planet would have to find a new and efficient means to blow off this heat.
What does a subduction zone cause?
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. This zone ‘locks’ between earthquakes, such that stress builds up. It is then released catastrophically in one or more earthquakes.