When this process occurs, it can create Wadati-Benioff zones, sites especially prone to deep-focus earthquakes.
The Izu-Bonin-Mariana Arc, or IBM Arc system, is an example of a back-arc basin formed due to this process. When this process occurs, it can create Wadati-Benioff zones, sites especially prone to deep-focus earthquakes. This process leads to the formation of continental arcs or volcanic arcs depending on whether it occurs at the boundary of two continental plates or between a continental and oceanic plate. This process can contribute to mantle convection by causing the oceanic lithosphere to sink into Earth's mantle in namesake "zones." For 10 points, name this process in which one tectonic plate is pushed beneath another and sinks into the mantle.
The Izu-Bonin-Mariana Arc, or IBM Arc system, is an example of a back-arc basin formed due to this process.
plate subduction [prompt on “(plate) convergence”]