Oceanography The Official Magazine of
The Oceanography Society
Volume 23 Issue 01

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Volume 23, No. 1
Pages 166 - 173

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Seamount Subduction and Earthquakes

By Anthony B. Watts , Anthony A.P. Koppers , and David P. Robinson  
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Article Abstract

Seamounts are ubiquitous features of the seafloor that form part of the fabric of oceanic crust. When a seamount enters a subduction zone, it has a major affect on forearc morphology, the uplift history of the island arc, and the structure of the downgoing slab. It is not known, however, what controls whether a seamount is accreted to the forearc or carried down into the subduction zone and recycled into the deep mantle. Of societal interest is the role seamounts play in geohazards, in particular, the generation of large earthquakes.

Citation

Watts, A.B., A.A.P. Koppers, and D.P. Robinson. 2010. Seamount subduction and earthquakes. Oceanography 23(1):166–173, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2010.68.

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