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Why does the oceanic crust slide beneath the continental crust at a subduction zone?
Wiki User
∙ 14y ago
This is because the land mass is more buoyant, or lighter, than the ocean
floor.
Wiki User
∙ 14y ago
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Why does ocenaic crust sink beneath the continental crust at a subduction boundary?
The oceanic crust is denser than the continental crust.
Where oceanic crust sinks toward the mantle beneath continental crust a deep ocean?
A deep ocean subduction trench
The process of an oceanic plate colliding with and descending underneath a continental plate?
The oceanic crust is subducted underneath the continental crust. This process is known as subduction.
What is likely happening at the boundary between the Nazca plate and the South American plate?
Answer this question… Subduction of oceanic crust beneath continental crust
Which is thicker continental crust oceanic crust?
Continental crust is the thicker of the two: it extends far beneath and above the Oceanic crust.
Why does the oceanic crust sink beneath the continental crust at the subduction zone?
density
Why does ocenaic crust sink beneath the continental crust at a subduction boundary?
The oceanic crust is denser than the continental crust.
What happens when an oceanic plate collides with a continental plate?
when oceanic crust and continental crust collide, the oceanic crust sinks down beneath the continental crust. this is called subduction.
Where oceanic crust sinks toward the mantle beneath continental crust a deep ocean?
A deep ocean subduction trench
The process of an oceanic plate colliding with and descending underneath a continental plate?
The oceanic crust is subducted underneath the continental crust. This process is known as subduction.
What is oceanic-oceanic subduction?
Oceanic crust sinking under a plate with continental crust
Where the leading edges of the oceanic plate encounter the margins of continental plates head on the denser oceanic crust dives beneath the lighter continental crust forming areas called?
Subduction zones.
What is likely happening at the boundary between the Nazca plate and the South American plate?
Answer this question… Subduction of oceanic crust beneath continental crust
Oceanic crust slides under continental crust during subduction because oceanic crust is?
denser
What is the process by which oceanic crust sinks beneath the trenches?
Subduction.
Which is thicker continental crust oceanic crust?
Continental crust is the thicker of the two: it extends far beneath and above the Oceanic crust.
What is the difference between the oceanic crust and continental crust and how does this influence plate boundary interactions?
When two plates move towards one another, they form either a subduction zone or a continental collision. This depends on the nature of the plates involved. In a subduction zone, the subducting plate, which is normally a plate with oceanic crust, moves beneath the other plate, which can be made of either oceanic or continental crust. During collisions between two continental plates, large mountain ranges, such as the Himalayas are formed. Oceanic crust is a type of crust that is submerged in huge bodies of water, while continental crust is the type of crust beneath the continents. Oceanic crust is thinner but denser, while the continental crust is thicker but lighter. Whenever a continental crust and an oceanic crust meets and collides, they form a convergence zone. The oceanic crust sinks below the continental crust(subduction zone) because it is denser. As it sinks into the mantle, it becomes magma which soon rises up to the surface to stabilize the mantle, thus creating a volcano. The continental crust, being the lighter one, does not sink. It may fold and form mountains. The nature of a convergent boundary depends on the type of lithosphere in the plates that are colliding. Where a dense oceanic plate collides with a less-dense continental plate, the oceanic plate is typically thrust underneath because of the greater buoyancy of the continental lithosphere, forming a subduction zone. At the surface, the topographic expression is commonly an oceanic trench on the ocean side and a mountain range on the continental side. An example of a continental-oceanic subduction zone is the area along the western coast of South America where the oceanic Nazca Plate is being subducted beneath the continental South American Plate.
