Generalized diagram of a subduction zone used in the Nature article, with an expanded-scale view of the seismogenic zone at the interface between the two plates of the earth's crust. As sediments are subducted beneath the overriding plate, they undergo several changes that can alter their rigidity: increased pressure with depth causes compaction of the subducting sediments, expulsion of fluids, metamorphism, and mineralogic phase changes, resulting in higher rigidity of the material with increasing depth.

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