At the boundaries between the tectonic plates in what are called the subduction zones this seemingly solid ground is drawn down many hundreds of kilometers into the hot interior .
板块边缘被称为活动和停滞俯冲带,这个看似稳固的地面被拉进几百公里深的炽热的内部。
Similar subduction zones encircle the pacific , earning the chains of volcanoes that stretch from the andes to the western pacific the collective moniker ring of fire .
The 8.9 magnitude earthquake on friday , the largest ever recorded in japan , occurred in a subduction zone , where one of the earth 's tectonic plates is sliding beneath another .
In the past few centuries , the subduction zone off the coast of sendai has generated earthquakes of up to magnitude 8 or so , but nothing as powerful as a 9 , which releases 30 times more energy .
Today , dozens of these environments are known in subduction zones near costa rica ; monterey bay , calif. ; japan ; alaska and antarctica .
现在在哥斯达黎加、加州蒙特利湾、日本、阿拉斯加和南极洲的俯冲带发现了几十处冷泉。
If the subduction zone near sendai can produce a great quake , then other areas with similarly old ocean crust might too , says okal , who says that tonga and the northeastern caribbean are regions to look at more closely .