What is tectonic subduction?
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.
What happens at convergent subduction?
Subduction occurs when two plates collide at a convergent boundary, and one plate is driven beneath the other, back into the Earth’s interior. When an oceanic plate collides with a continental plate, the denser oceanic plate is bent downward and slides under the edge of the continent.
What happens when a plate Subducts?
Plates Subduct When an ocean plate collides with another ocean plate or with a plate carrying continents, one plate will bend and slide under the other. This process is called subduction. A deep ocean trench forms at this subduction boundary.
What is a divergent tectonic plate?
A divergent boundary occurs when two tectonic plates move away from each other. Along these boundaries, earthquakes are common and magma (molten rock) rises from the Earth’s mantle to the surface, solidifying to create new oceanic crust. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is an example of divergent plate boundaries.
What is an example of a subduction zone?
An oceanic plate can descend beneath another oceanic plate – Japan, Indonesia, and the Aleutian Islands are examples of this type of subduction. The volcanoes result from melting in the mantle as the subducting plate descends. Subduction zones are also areas of frequent earthquake activity.
How does subduction cause land mass formation?
When the other plate is forced down the process is called subduction. The plate enters into the magma and eventually it is completely melted. That is how the surface of the earth makes way for the crust created over time at other plate boundaries. These pockets of magma find paths to the surface and create volcanoes.
Which plate sinks in subduction?
Oceanic
Oceanic crust is denser than continental crust. At a subduction zone, the oceanic crust usually sinks into the mantle beneath lighter continental crust.
What is the meaning of Convergent in science?
Convergent (Colliding): This occurs when plates move towards each other and collide. When a continental plate meets an oceanic plate, the thinner, denser, and more flexible oceanic plate sinks beneath the thicker, more rigid continental plate.
Which plate is being subducted?
The Nazca plate is a large tectonic plate that underlies the Pacific Ocean near the western coast of South America. It is subducting under (that is, being forced under) the South American plate.
What is in the asthenosphere?
The asthenosphere is a layer (zone) of Earth’s mantle lying beneath the lithosphere. It is a layer of solid rock that has so much pressure and heat the rocks can flow like a liquid.
Where do divergent plates occur?
Divergent boundaries are spreading boundaries, where new oceanic crust is created to fill in the space as the plates move apart. Most divergent boundaries are located along mid-ocean oceanic ridges (although some are on land).
What is the difference between convergent and divergent plate boundaries?
Divergent boundaries — where new crust is generated as the plates pull away from each other. Convergent boundaries — where crust is destroyed as one plate dives under another.