Which process explains the high concentration of composite volcanoes along the Pacific Ring of Fire coastline?

💡 Explanation

When an oceanic plate subducts, dehydration of the descending crust releases water into the mantle, causing the melting point of the mantle wedge to decrease because hydrated minerals melt at lower temperatures. Therefore, flux melting results, creating magma that feeds the composite volcanoes, rather than other volcano types formed by different mantle processes occurring further from subduction zones.

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