Origin and character of deep-seated veins from convergent margins

地球表面可以被细分为几个板块，大陆就坐落在这些板块之上。由于这些板块不断运动，大陆经常碰撞，形成山带。地球上所有的山脉带，如阿尔卑斯山和喜马拉雅山，都是由于板块碰撞而形成的。沿着这些碰撞前沿，地壳在深埋的过程中不断被消耗，这一过程被称为俯冲，然后当一些被埋的地壳被带回表面（挖掘）时，它又被循环利用。造山和地壳再循环被认为是由俯冲和构造埋藏的地壳岩石向密度较大的物质（榴辉岩）转化所驱动的。在深度超过40公里的地方，地壳被认为是塑性的，因为下行板块的高压和高温条件被认为抑制了可能导致地震的脆性变形。然而，许多地震发生在50-300公里的深度。了解和预测地震的发生，需要解决断层运动的物理化学过程和控制俯冲带粘滑事件的因素。对这些地区的研究很重要，因为地震通常发生在人口密集的大陆沿海地区，比如加利福尼亚和不列颠哥伦比亚，当地震发生在海底时，可能会引发海啸。

Earth's surface can be subdivided into several tectonic plates on which the continents sit. Because these plates are in constant motion, continents often collide, forming mountain belts. All of the Earth's great mountain belts such as the Alps, and the Himalayas are formed due to plate collisions. Along these collisional fronts, the Earth's crust is continually consumed as it is buried to great depth, in a process known as subduction, and then recycled when some of this buried crust is brought back to the surface (exhumation). Mountain building and crustal recycling is believed to be driven by the transformation of subducted and tectonically buried crustal rocks to denser material (eclogite). At depths greater than 40 km, the crust is thought to behave plastically because, the high pressure and temperature conditions in the down-going slab are thought to inhibit brittle deformation, which may cause earthquakes. However, many earthquakes occur at depths of 50-300 km. Understanding and predicting the occurrence of earthquakes requires resolving the physical-chemical processes involved in fault movement and the factors controlling stick-slip events in subduction zones. Research into these areas is important because earthquakes are commonly localized around the coastal areas of continents, which are highly populated, such as California and British Colombia, and when located under the ocean, can create tsunamis.