Figure 1.
The distribution of hadal trenches over the world’s ocean
The map was generated using the ETOPO1 database and Generic Mapping Tools software. White color shows areas with water depth greater than 6,000 m. Dark red color highlights areas with water depths great than 9,000 m in hadal trenches, which are exclusively located in the Pacific Ocean. Values in small boxes show the maximum depth, the total area, the age of the subduction lithosphere, and the total flux of particulate organic carbon in each hadal trench.2,5,6 Yellow, blue, green, and red dots represent four different clusters of hadal trenches, which are grouped on how geographically distant each hadal area is from all other hadal areas.7