[suh
b-duhk-shuhn] 
| 1. | an act or instance of subducting; subtraction or withdrawal. |
| 2. | Geology. the process by which collision of the earth's crustal plates results in one plate's being drawn down or overridden by another, localized along the juncture (subduction zone) of two plates. |
| subduction (səb-dŭk'shən) Pronunciation Key
A geologic process in which one edge of one lithospheric plate is forced below the edge of another. The denser of the two plates sinks beneath the other. As it descends, the plate often generates seismic and volcanic activity (from melting and upward migration of magma) in the overriding plate. Compare obduction. subduct verb |
| subduction zone
A convergent plate boundary where one plate subducts beneath the other, usually because it is denser. The western coast of South America is roughly coincident with a subduction zone in which a plate consisting of ocean floor is subducting beneath the continental mass of South America. |