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 subduction 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

/ 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of subduction¹

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

Example Sentences

Driven by the erupting lava, plates scrape past and collide with each other, and they can also dive beneath other plates and into the planet’s interior in a process called subduction.

From New York Times

The upgrade also would improve warnings for the Pacific Northwest and California’s North Coast, which are threatened by tsunamis from quakes along the Cascadia subduction zone.

From Los Angeles Times

"These splay faults are closer to the coast, so these tsunamis will be faster to hit the coastline than a tsunami generated only from a subduction zone earthquake."

From Science Daily

This is a subduction zone off New Zealand's coast where slow slip events occur routinely, about once a year.

From Science Daily

In addition, they show that their model accurately describes the rise in fluid pressure observed in the Nankai subduction zone near Japan after a series of small earthquakes in 2003.

From Science Daily