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Nature 403, 31-34 (6 January 2000) | doi:10.1038/47382

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Earth science: Taking the temperature of slabs

Stephen H. Kirby

Subduction zones, where oceanic plates dive deep into Earth's mantle, pro- duce graceful arc-shaped chains of volcanoes landward of oceanic trenches and parallel belts of earthquakes marking plate descent. Sinking plates (slabs) preserve the cold structure of Earth's near-surface thermal boundary layer to great depths.