Oceanic trenches are prominent, long, narrow topographic depressions of the ocean floor. They are typically 50 to 100 … See more

There are approximately 50,000 km (31,000 mi) of convergent plate margins worldwide. These are mostly located around the Pacific Ocean, but are also found in the eastern Indian Ocean, with a few shorter convergen… See more

Trenches were not clearly defined until the late 1940s and 1950s. The bathymetry of the ocean was poorly known prior to the Challenger expedition of 1872–1876, which took 492 soundings of the deep ocean. At station #22… See more

Oceanic trenches are 50 to 100 kilometers (30 to 60 mi) wide and have an asymmetric V-shape, with the steeper slope (8 to 20 degrees) on the inner (overriding) side of the trench and the gentler slope (around 5 degrees) o… See more

Trenches seem positionally stable over time, but scientists believe that some trenches—particularly those associated with subduction zones where two oceanic plates converge—move backward into the subducting … See more

As sediments are subducted at the bottom of trenches, much of their fluid content is expelled and moves back along the subduction décollement to emerge on the inner slope as mud volcanoes and cold seeps… See more