Tectonic erosion or subduction erosion is the loss of crust from an overriding tectonic plate due to subduction. Two types of tectonic erosion exist: frontal erosion at the outer margin of a plate and basal erosion at the base of the plate's crust. Basal erosion causes a thinning of the overriding plate. When frontal tectonic erosion consumes a crustal block at the outer margin it may induce a domino effect on upper crustal tectonics causing the remaining blocks to fault and tilt to fill the “gap” left by the consumed block. Subduction erosion is believed to be enhanced by high convergence rates and low sediment supply to the trench.
Before the Neoproterozoic, subduction erosion rates were probably higher than at present due to higher convergence rates. A scarcity of blueschists from this time seems to support this view.
The following features and processes have been associated with subduction erosion: