Slab tearing (sketch)
Sketch of laterally progressing slab detachment and resulting inflow of asthenospheric material into the opening gap.
Subduction is a key geological process where one tectonic plate sinks beneath another into the Earth’s mantle, usually at convergent plate boundaries. It drives mountain building, earthquakes, and volcanic activity, shaping Earth’s surface and its deep interior over Millions of years. Subduction zones recycle oceanic crust, are critically driving plate tectonics, and influence global climate through carbon cycling. Famous observables related to subduction include the Mariana Trench and the Andes Mountains. Dive into observables and models of subduction, the critical process that makes our planet so different from all others we know!
Subduction earthquakes (crosssection)
Vertical crosssection through the Japan subduction zone highlighting large, subduction-related earthquakes recorded over the last decades and the spatial distribution of their hypocentres.
Subduction zones (map)
A map of the Earth's subduction zones, featuring all major subduction trenches, including the South American and the Izu Bonin Marianas.
Puysegur trench formation
A schematic highlighting the formation of the Puysegur trench, New Zealand, where subduction zone initiation may be both horizontally and then vertically driven, according to a 4D evolution model of this margin.
Global-scale mantle flow (sketch)
A sketch outlining the link between the viscous convection within the Earth’s mantle and tectonic surface plate motions.
Subduction zone initiation types
Illustration of the three types of subduction zone initiation (SZI) events, namely Newly destructive, Episodic subduction, and Polarity reversal.
Subduction initiation forcing
The illustration depicts two endmember states in subduction zone initiation: vertically-forced and horizontally-forced subduction initiation.
3-D subduction mantle flow
3-D subduction dynamics and mantle flow model animation showing the time evolution of oceanic plate subduction and resulting mantle flow.