Benioff zone

[ ben-ee-awf, -of ]

nounGeology, Oceanography.
  1. a planar seismic zone in oceanic crust along which subduction of lithospheric plates gives rise to frequent earthquakes: marked by oceanic trenches sloping downward at about 45° toward adjacent island arcs or continents.

Origin of Benioff zone

1
After Hugo Benioff (1899–1968), U.S. geophysicist

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British Dictionary definitions for Benioff zone

Benioff zone

/ (ˈbɛnɪəf) /


noun
  1. a long narrow region, usually adjacent to a continent, along which earthquake foci lie on a plane which dips downwards at about 45° and along which the oceanic lithosphere is thought to be descending into the earth's interior: Compare subduction zone

Origin of Benioff zone

1
C20: named after Hugo Benioff (1899–1968), American seismologist, who first discovered the phenomenon

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