Which process causes the formation of a volcanic arc when oceanic lithosphere subducts beneath continental lithosphere?

💡 Explanation

When oceanic lithosphere subducts, hydration-induced partial melting of the mantle wedge occurs because water released from the subducting slab lowers the mantle's melting point, leading to magma generation and volcanic arc formation. Therefore, partial melting explains arc volcanism, rather than decompression, heating, or isostatic rebound which involve alternative mechanisms.

• Which ecological collapse risk increases where discontinuous permafrost thaws?
• Which phenomenon significantly enhances the Coriolis effect's influence on prevailing winds at higher latitudes?
• Which airflow results from an idealized, non-rotating Earth experiencing greater equatorial heating?
• Which process causes subsidence on the downthrown side of a growing normal fault?
• Which outcome occurs when stress rapidly accumulates along a transform plate boundary below a large artificial reservoir?
• Which geological feature typically forms due to the lateral shearing motion at a transform plate boundary?