What happens when 2 tectonic plates collide?
If two tectonic plates collide, they form a convergent plate boundary. Usually, one of the converging plates will move beneath the other, a process known as subduction. Deep trenches are features often formed where tectonic plates are being subducted and earthquakes are common at subduction zones as well.
How does subduction lead to volcanic activity?
Thick layers of sediment may accumulate in the trench, and these and the subducting plate rocks contain water that subduction transports to depth, which at higher temperatures and pressures enables melting to occur and 'magmas' to form. The hot buoyant magma rises up to the surface, forming chains of volcanoes.
Why does subduction does not occur during the collision of two continental plates?
When two continental plates collide neither plate can be subducted due to their high bouyancy. With this type of collision there are no features such as a subduction zone, trench or acretionary wedge. The collision of two continental plates occurs when a sea becomes narrower until both plates collide.
How do subduction zones cause earthquakes?
At subduction zones, the oceanic plate is pushed down, or subducted, below the continental lithosphere. As the oceanic slab descends, earthquakes are generated within the slab and at the interface between the plates.
Why does earthquakes occur in subduction zone?
Why do so many earthquakes originate in this region? The belt exists along boundaries of tectonic plates, where plates of mostly oceanic crust are sinking (or subducting) beneath another plate. Earthquakes in these subduction zones are caused by slip between plates and rupture within plates.
What will happen when subduction ceases to occur during the convergence of two continental plates?
What is likely to happen when subduction ceases to occur during the convergence of two continental plates? With collision of the two continental plates subduction ceases because neither of the continental plates will subduct beneath each other. The result is a collision between two continental blocks.
When two plates form a subduction zone which plate will Subduct?
oceanic lithosphere Where two tectonic plates converge, if one or both of the plates is oceanic lithosphere, a subduction zone will form. An oceanic plate will sink back into the mantle.
What happens during a subduction?
Subduction is a geological process in which the oceanic lithosphere is recycled into the Earth's mantle at convergent boundaries. Where the oceanic lithosphere of a tectonic plate converges with the less dense lithosphere of a second plate, the heavier plate dives beneath the second plate and sinks into the mantle.
What type of earthquakes occur at subduction zones?
Earthquakes occur in subduction zones for a variety of reasons. Stresses associated with the collision of two plates cause deformation in the overriding plate, and thus shallow earthquakes. Shallow earthquakes also happen on the subducting slab when a locked zone (orange line, Figure 12.20) ruptures.
What happens at a subduction zone quizlet?
The region where an oceanic plate sinks down into the asthenosphere at a convergent boundary, between continental and oceanic plates. Where two plates are moving apart, magma comes up to create new crust. A geologic feature in the seafloor produced by the descending plate during subduction.
Why is there no subduction when two continental plates collide?
When two continental plates collide neither plate can be subducted due to their high bouyancy. With this type of collision there are no features such as a subduction zone, trench or acretionary wedge. The collision of two continental plates occurs when a sea becomes narrower until both plates collide.
When two plates collide one of the plates goes beneath the other this process is called?
In some cases, however, a convergent plate boundary can result in one tectonic plate diving underneath another. This process, called “subduction,” involves an older, denser tectonic plate being forced deep into the planet underneath a younger, less-dense tectonic plate.
What is formed at a subduction zone?
Oceanic trenches are formed at subduction zones. Oceanic plates meet continental plates in the water, so trenches are formed as the oceanic plate goes under the continental plate. These trenches can be very deep if the plate that is subducting (going down) is an older and colder plate.
Which of the following happens during subduction?
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.)
Which plate boundary has a subduction zone?
convergent plate boundaries Subduction zones are where the cold oceanic lithosphere sinks back into the mantle and is recycled. They are found at convergent plate boundaries, where the oceanic lithosphere of one plate converges with the less dense lithosphere of another plate.
What is subduction in plate tectonics?
Subduction is a significant geological process involving plate tectonics. The product of convergent boundaries, subduction involves the movement of an oceanic plate into the mantle where it meets a continental or another oceanic plate. The area where subduction occurs is called a subduction zone.
Does subduction occur when continental plates collide?
Subduction occurs when two plates collide at a convergent boundary, and one plate is driven beneath the other, back into the Earth's interior. Not all convergence leads to subduction. Continental rocks are too buoyant to be forced downward, so when continents collide, they crumple but stay at the surface.