Nankai Trough

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The Nankai Trough (南海トラフ, Nankai Torafu, Southern Sea Trough) is a submarine trough located south of the Nankaidō region of Japan's island of Honshu, extending approximately 900 km (559 mi) offshore. The underlying fault, the Nankai megathrust, is the source of the devastating Nankai megathrust earthquakes, while the trough itself is potentially a major source of hydrocarbon fuel, in the form of methane clathrate.

In plate tectonics, the Nankai Trough marks a subduction zone that is caused by subduction of the Philippine Sea plate beneath Japan, part of the Eurasian plate (Kanda et al., 2004). This plate boundary would be an oceanic trench except for a high flux of sediments that fills the trench. Within the Nankai Trough there is a large amount of deformed trench sediments (Ike, 2004), making one of Earth's best examples of accretionary prism. Furthermore, seismic reflection studies have revealed the presence of basement highs that are interpreted as seamounts that are covered in sediments (Ike, 2004). The northern part of the trough is known as the Suruga Trough, while to the east is the Sagami Trough. The Nankai Trough runs roughly parallel to the Japan Median Tectonic Line.