Paper 182 of 383
Published May 31, 2026
Oceanic extreme systems preserve valuable information about trench formation, crustal organization, subduction geometry, basin architecture, and long-term Earth-system structure.
This framework evaluates oceanic extreme expression using measurable variables including trench depth, arc curvature, basin-margin geometry, structural persistence, volcanic alignment, fracture continuity, and regional oceanic architecture.
Reference systems include the Mariana Trench, Tonga Trench, Kermadec Trench, Japan Trench, Philippine Sea region, and selected western Pacific arc systems.
The objective is to establish a repeatable methodology for comparing oceanic extreme systems in relation to continental elevation systems, basin systems, and planetary-scale geometry.
Within ABC Sequencing, oceanic extremes provide a necessary counterpart to continental extremes. Their significance emerges through comparison, not assumption.
The framework remains deliberately restrained: deep structures are measured first, interpreted second.
This paper broadens the Mariana analysis into a framework for comparing oceanic extreme systems across major trench and arc environments.