subduction

[suhb-duhk-shuhn]

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.

subduction

/ 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

subduction

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of subduction¹

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

Example Sentences

"This is the first time we have a clear picture of a subduction zone caught in the act of dying," said Shuck.

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

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

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They are two of the West Coast’s most destructive generators of huge earthquakes: the San Andreas fault in California and the Cascadia subduction zone offshore of California’s North Coast, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia.

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Longer seismic ruptures have been found only on subduction megathrusts deep underneath the ocean.

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