(a) Geological units and earthquake distribution of an oceanic subduction zone. The orange shadow beneath the volcanic arc represents partially molten areas and magma channels. (b) Thermal structure ...

The present solid Earth is actually active, with new plates generating in the mid-ocean ridges and some old plates sinking back into the interior through subduction zones. Subduction is thus a key ...

Subduction zones are cornerstone components of plate tectonics, with one plate sliding beneath another back into Earth's mantle. But the very beginning of this process—subduction initiation—remains ...