of water is in the metamorphism processes that occur in fresh seafloor volcanic rocks as seawater, sometimes heated, flows through the fractures and crevices in the rock. All of these processes, illustrated by serpentinization, are an important part of the destruction of volcanic rock. The role of water and other volatiles in the melting of existing crustal rock in the wedge above a subduction zone is a most important part of the cycle. Along with water, the presence of carbon dioxide and other carbon compounds from abundant marine limestone within the sediments atop the down going slab is another source of melt inducing volatiles. This involves the carbon cycle as a part of the overall rock cycle. See also References Fichter, Lynn S., (2000), The Wilson Cycle and a Plate Tectonic Rock Cycle, James Madison University, Department of Geology and Environmental Science. Retrieved 18 Aug. 2005. External links The Six Fundamental Concepts about the Earth's Geology - NASA Wilson cycle - a detailed Plate Tectonics rock cycle Modelling the rock cycle with STELLA Wilson cycle A circular Wilson cycle? Biogeochemical cycle Geological processes Petrology