Subduction slabs drive plate tectonics by pulling along the
lithosphere to which they attach in a process known as
slab pull and by inducing currents in the mantle via
slab suction.[2] The slab affects the
convection and evolution of the Earth's
mantle due to the insertion of the hydrous
oceanic lithosphere.[3] Dense oceanic lithosphere retreats into the Earth's mantle, while lightweight continental lithospheric material produces active continental margins and
volcanic arcs, generating
volcanism.[4] Recycling the subducted slab presents volcanism by flux melting from the
mantle wedge.[5] The slab motion can cause
dynamic uplift and subsidence of the Earth's surface, forming shallow seaways[2] and potentially rearranging drainage patterns.[6]
Geologic features of the subsurface can infer subducted slabs by
seismic imaging.[7][8] Subduction slabs are dynamic; slab characteristics such as slab temperature evolution,
flat-slab, deep-slab, and
slab detachment can be expressed globally near subduction zones.[9] Temperature gradients of subducted slabs depend on the oceanic plate's time and thermal structures.[10] Slabs experiencing low angle (less than 30 degrees) subduction is considered
flat-slab, primarily in southern China and the western United States.[11][12]Marianas Trench is an example of a deep slab, thereby creating the deepest trench in the world established by a steep slab angle.[13]Slab breakoff occurs during a collision between oceanic and continental lithosphere,[14] allowing for a slab tear; an example of slab breakoff occurs within the Himalayan subduction zone.[4]
See also
Slab window – Type of gap in a subducted oceanic plate
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abMitrovica, J. X.; Beaumont, C.; Jarvis, G. T. (1989). "Tilting of continental interiors by the dynamical effects of subduction". Tectonics. 8 (5): 1079.
Bibcode:
1989Tecto...8.1079M.
doi:
10.1029/TC008i005p01079.