Earth-System Participation Index Framework

Paper 318 of 383
Published June 1, 2026

Some geological regions participate in a wide variety of Earth-system processes.

Others participate in relatively few.

Participation may include structural evolution, basin development, resource accumulation, tectonic interaction, deformation histories, sediment routing, and regional transitions.

This paper proposes an Earth-System Participation Index as a framework for comparing geological involvement across multiple domains.

Participation Components

• Structural participation
• Resource participation
• Boundary participation
• Persistence participation
• Transition participation
• Influence duration
• Network connectivity
• Multi-scale relevance

Participation Principle

The importance of a geological region may be estimated through the breadth and duration of its participation in Earth-system processes.