Subduction : Top to Bottom

Published by the American Geophysical Union as part of the Geophysical Monograph Series, Volume 96.Perhaps no other plate tectonic setting has attracted as diverse multidisciplinary attention as convergent margins.

This has in part been spurred by the extremely tangible hazards imposed by subduction, particularly in the form of earthquakes and tsunamis and arc volcanism.

Concern regarding these hazards is heightened by the tendency of convergent margins to be heavily populated coastal regions.

There has also been great interest in convergent margin settings for their potential (and demonstrated capability) of producing economically important oil and gas reservoirs and ore deposits.

The cycling of materials (e.g., CO2 at convergent margins has been recognized as potentially significantly effecting changes in our environment, in particular, impacting evolution of the hydrosphere and atmosphere.

It is widely accepted that convergent margin accretion and arc magmatism have been largely responsible for continental crust formation over long periods of Earth's history.