subduction

American  

[suhb-duhk-shuhn] / səbˈdʌk ʃən /

noun

1. an act or instance of subducting; subtraction or withdrawal.

2. Geology. the process by which collision of the earth's crustal plates results in one plate's being drawn down or overridden by another, localized along the juncture subduction zone of two plates.

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subduction British  

/ səbˈdʌkʃən /

noun

1. the act of subducting, esp of turning the eye downwards

2. geology the process of one tectonic plate sliding under another, resulting in tensions and faulting in the earth's crust, with earthquakes and volcanic eruptions

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subduction Scientific  

/ səb-dŭk′shən /

1. A geologic process in which one edge of one lithospheric plate is forced below the edge of another. The denser of the two plates sinks beneath the other. As it descends, the plate often generates seismic and volcanic activity (from melting and upward migration of magma) in the overriding plate.

2. Compare obduction

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Etymology

Origin of subduction

1570–80; < Latin subductiōn-, stem of subductiō pulling up, computation; subduct, -ion

Example Sentences

Their combined results point to a far livelier early Earth, suggesting that widespread subduction and the growth of continental crust may have begun several hundred million years earlier than earlier theories proposed.

From Science Daily

The tectonic plates surrounding the Pacific Ocean are converging, or moving toward each other, resulting in a rough arc of subduction faults around the edge of the ocean.

From Literature

The study revealed that subduction zones don't fail in one catastrophic break but die in stages, through a process known as "episodic" or "piecewise" termination.

From Science Daily

When the massive subduction zone lying under the Pacific Northwest shifts, it does so violently.

From Science Daily

New research offers the theory that the San Andreas fault and the Cascadia subduction zone could produce devastating back-to-back earthquake disasters.

From Los Angeles Times