Subslab mantle buoyancy
= Subslab mantle buoyancy
The <buoyancy> of the <mantle> beneath a descending <slab>. Thermal, compositional or melt-related <density> anomalies can modify pressure and traction on the slab, potentially changing its contact with the <overriding plate>. It differs from the slab's own <slab buoyancy>. Inferring it from low seismic velocities requires independent constraints because temperature, fluids, melt and composition can produce overlapping signatures.