User:Zircon8/Slab (geology)

Original article:

In geology, the slab is a portion of a tectonic plate that is subducted.

''Slabs constitute an important part of the global plate tectonic system. They drive plate tectonics – both by pulling along the oceanic lithosphere to which they attach in a process known as slab pull and by inciting currents in the mantle (slab suction). They cause volcanism in active continental margins and at island arcs due to flux melting of the mantle wedge. The slab also affects the flow and thermal evolution of the Earth's mantle. Their motion can cause dynamic uplift and subsidence of the Earth's surface, forming shallow seaways and potentially rearranging drainage patterns.''

''Geologists have imaged slabs down to the seismic discontinuities between the upper and lower mantle and the core–mantle boundary. One hundred slabs identified at depth enter the mantle at subducted zones. Slab subduction is the mechanism by which lithospheric material mixes back into the Earth's mantle.''

Lead
In geology, slabs are significant constituents in subduction zones.

Body
Subduction slabs drive plate tectonics by pulling along the oceanic lithosphere to which they attach in a process known as slab pull and by inducing currents in the mantle (slab suction). The slab affects the convection and evolution of the Earth's mantle due to the insertion of the hydrous oceanic lithosphere. Convergent margins of oceanic and continental lithospheres collide during the process of subduction. Dense oceanic lithosphere retreats into the Earth's mantle, while lightweight continental lithospheric material produces active continental margins and volcanic arcs, generating volcanism. Recycling of the subducted slab presents volcanism by flux melting from the mantle wedge. The slab motion can cause dynamic uplift and subsidence of the Earth's surface, forming shallow seaways and potentially rearranging drainage patterns.

''Geologists have imaged slabs at seismic discontinuities between the upper and lower mantle and the core–mantle boundary. One hundred slabs identified at depth enter the mantle at subducted zones. Slab subduction is the mechanism by which lithospheric material mixes back into the Earth's mantle. ''