What is subduction zone simple definition?

Wikipedia Definition. 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.

Why are they called subduction zone?

Oceanic crust is denser than continental crust. At a subduction zone, the oceanic crust usually sinks into the mantle beneath lighter continental crust. (Sometimes, oceanic crust may grow so old and that dense that it collapses and spontaneously forms a subduction zone, scientists think.)

What is subduction zone example?

An oceanic plate can descend beneath another oceanic plate – Japan, Indonesia, and the Aleutian Islands are examples of this type of subduction. Subduction zones are marked by a deep sea trench – where the lithosphere bends downward – and a parallel chain of volcanoes.

What is a subduction zone in astronomy?

A subduction zone is a region of the Earth’s crust where tectonic plates meet. Tectonic plates are massive pieces of the Earth’s crust that interact with each other. The places where these plates meet are called plate boundaries.

What is a subduction zone and what happens there?

A subduction zone is a convergent boundary where two tectonic plates collide. Plates are large, dense masses in the crust of the Earth, the lithosphere , that float on top of liquefied rock in the asthenosphere . They are constantly shifting and moving, so when they subduct, one pushes beneath the other.

Where do subduction zones occur and why?

Subduction zones happen where plates collide. When two tectonic plates meet it is like the immovable object meeting the unstoppable force. However tectonic plates decide it by mass. The more massive plate, normally a continental will force the other plate, an oceanic plate down beneath it. This is the subduction zone.

What are subduction zones associated with?

Subduction zones are associated with regions where two plates are moving towards each other, and the crust of the earth is shortened. An example is where the western edge of South America meets the Pacific Ocean . In this case, the collision is between a continental plate and an oceanic plate,…

What are the features of a subduction zone?

The map reveals typical features of a subduction zone: an oceanic trench, a fore-arc ridge, a fore-arc basin, and an island arc. The location of the plate boundary is marked by the Sunda Trench , a narrow band of very deep water that parallels the Sumatran coast.