Editing Subduction (section)

{{Short description
|A geological process at convergent tectonic plate boundaries where one plate moves under the other}}
{{Redirect|Mantle cell|the form of cancer|Mantle cell lymphoma}}
[[File:Subduction-en.svg|thumb|upright=1.85|Diagram of the geological process of subduction]]

'''Subduction''' is a geological process in which the [[oceanic lithosphere]] and some continental lithosphere is [[Geochemical cycle|recycled]] into the [[Earth's mantle]] at the [[convergent boundary|convergent boundaries]] between tectonic plates. Where one [[tectonic plate]] converges with a second plate, the heavier plate dives beneath the other and sinks into the mantle. A region where this process occurs is known as a '''subduction zone''', and its surface expression is known as an '''arc-trench complex'''. The process of subduction has created most of the Earth's continental crust.<ref>{{citation |doi=10.1029/2001RG000108 |title=Subduction zones |journal=Reviews of Geophysics |volume=40 |issue=4 |pages=1012 |year=2002 |last1=Stern |first1=Robert J. |bibcode=2002RvGeo..40.1012S |s2cid=247695067 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Rates of subduction are typically measured in centimeters per year, with rates of convergence as high as 11&nbsp;cm/year.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Defant |first=M. J. |year=1998 |title=Voyage of Discovery: From the Big Bang to the Ice Age |publisher=Mancorp |page=325 |isbn=978-0-931541-61-2 }}</ref>

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 subduction is driven mostly by the negative [[buoyancy]] of the dense subducting lithosphere. The down-going [[slab (geology)|slab]] sinks into the mantle largely under its own weight.{{sfn|Stern|2002|p=3}}

[[Earthquake]]s are common along subduction zones, and fluids released by the subducting plate trigger [[volcanism]] in the overriding plate. If the subducting plate sinks at a shallow angle, the overriding plate develops a [[orogen|belt]] of [[deformation (geology)|deformation]] characterized by crustal thickening, [[Mountain formation|mountain building]], and [[metamorphism]]. Subduction at a steeper angle is characterized by the formation of [[back-arc basin]]s.{{sfn|Stern|2002}}