Editing Obduction (section)

===Rear-arc basin===
Dewey and Bird<ref name="Dewey_a">Dewey, J. F. and Bird, J.M., 1971. Origin and emplacement of the ophiolite suite: Appalachian ophiolites in Newfoundland. J. Geophys. Res., 76:3179-3206.</ref> suggest that a common form of ophiolite obduction is related to the closure of rear-arc marginal basins and that, during such closure by subduction, slices of oceanic crust and mantle may be expelled onto adjacent continental forelands and emplaced as ophiolite sheets. In the high heat-flow region of a volcanic arc and rear-arc basin the lithosphere is particularly thin.

This thin lithosphere may preferentially fail along gently dipping thrust surface if a compressional stress is applied to the region. Under these circumstances, a thin sheet of lithosphere may become detached and begin to ride over adjacent lithosphere to finally become emplaced as a thin ophiolite sheet on the adjacent continental foreland.<ref name="Dewey" /> This mechanism is a form of plate convergence where a thin, hot layer of oceanic lithosphere is obducted over cooler and thicker lithosphere.