Which outcome results from increased mantle dehydration during subduction?

💡 Explanation

Dehydration introduces water into the mantle wedge above the subducting slab, a process called flux melting. Melting points lower because water reduces the solidus temperature; therefore, crustal melting increases, rather than adjustments to viscosity, earthquake frequency, or crustal erosion.

• Which process dominates sediment sorting in a proglacial lake experiencing increased meltwater discharge?
• Which mechanism causes relatively shallow sill depths at the mouth of many fjords?
• Which phenomenon drives deep ocean thermohaline circulation due to density differences?
• Which mechanism causes increased rockfall within cirques undergoing thaw?
• Which process primarily drives the formation of a stepped or terraced cirque morphology in mountainous regions?
• At what temperature does lava viscosity reduce to cause accelerated lateral lava flow rates?