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 …

The plates are bounded by three types of features: ridge axes, where new seafloor is created in mid-ocean; transform faults, where plates slide past one another; and subduction zones, …

Sep 7, 2020 · Where they collide and one plate is thrust beneath another (a subduction zone), the most powerful earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, and landslides occur.

Jan 17, 2020 · 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 …

Jul 27, 2020 · Subduction is the primary driver of plate tectonics and has provided a critical exchange of life-supporting elements between the biosphere and geosphere over Earth’s history.

Mar 6, 2018 · In geological terms, subduction is the act of one tectonic plate moving under another tectonic plate at the point of their convergent boundary. As the subducting plate …

Mar 11, 2025 · Subduction zones are responsible for powerful earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic activity, making them some of the most geologically active and hazardous areas on …

Sep 6, 2022 · 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 …

Dec 30, 2024 · When this plate is forced to bend downwards, the process is called subduction. The process of subduction results in the formation of a zone called a subduction zone. The …

Subduction zones form where a plate with thinner (less-buoyant) oceanic crust descends beneath a plate with thicker (more-buoyant) continental crust.