Tonga-Kermadec subduction system

E43916

The Tonga-Kermadec subduction system is a major convergent plate boundary in the southwest Pacific where the Pacific Plate descends beneath the Indo-Australian Plate, producing one of the world’s deepest ocean trenches and most active seismic and volcanic regions.


Statements (49)
Predicate Object
instanceOf convergent plate boundary
subduction zone
tectonic system
associatedWith Kermadec Ridge
Tonga Ridge
Tonga-Kermadec volcanic arc
back-arc Havre Trough
back-arc Lau Basin
fluid release from subducting slab
mantle wedge melting
tsunami generation
boundedBy Lau Basin to the west
Pacific Plate to the east
characterizedBy oceanic-oceanic subduction
contains Horizon Deep
extendsFrom northern Tonga region
extendsTo Kermadec region north of New Zealand
hasFeature active volcanism
back-arc spreading centers
deep ocean trench
frequent large earthquakes
high plate convergence rate
high seismicity
slab rollback
steep subduction angle
submarine volcanoes
volcanic island arc
hasMaximumDepth over 10000 m
hasOverridingPlate Indo-Australian Plate
hasPart Kermadec Trench
Tonga Trench
hasSubductingPlate Pacific Plate
HorizonDeepDepthApprox about 10800 m
locatedIn southwest Pacific Ocean
near Kermadec Islands
Tonga Islands
oneOfWorlds deepest ocean trenches
most seismically active regions
most volcanically active regions
overlies Pacific Plate
partOf Pacific Ring of Fire
produces deep-focus earthquakes
intermediate-depth earthquakes
megathrust earthquakes
studiedIn marine geology
plate tectonics
seismology
volcanology
underlies Indo-Australian Plate

Referenced by (3)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Tonga Trench
associatedWith
Kermadec Trench ("Kermadec-Tonga subduction system")
geologicalProvince
Kermadec Trench ("Kermadec-Tonga subduction zone")
partOf

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