An inclined zone in which many deep earthquakes occur, situated beneath a destructive plate boundary where oceanic crust is being subducted.
Example sentencesExamples
- The most persuasive evidence for the existence of subduction zones is the narrow Benioff zones of earthquake epicentres dipping away from deep-sea trenches.
- The seismic velocity in the zone underneath the Benioff zone has been found to be higher than normal.
- The brittle crust cracked and slid in many places, especially along paths called Benioff zones.
- These zones are now known as Benioff zones and mark the position of the gradual destruction of the subducting plate.
- Slow and highly attenuating lithosphere exists beneath this portion of the Anatolian plate and geometry of the Benioff zones.