The Japan Trench

Hello again! I have just finished my adventures in America, and have landed in the Tokyo airport. What a bustling city! I have begun talking with my taxi driver on what to see while in the city, and right off the bat he reccomended the Imperial Palace. With such a mysterious quality in its name I couldn't resist a visit. After checking into my hotel and dropping off my bags, I headed straight to the palace.

http://www.richard-seaman.com/Wallpaper/Travel/Japan/TokyoImperialPalaceBuilding.jpg

The Imperial Palace

Much to my disappointment, the actual building was off limits to the public. I was able to get a tour of the grounds though, which was quite enjoyable. By the time my tour had ended, I was incredibly hungry, and zipped downtown to get some good sushi. With a belly full of nigiri, I hailed another cab and arrived back at my hotel, it was time to learn about the Japan Trench. The Japan trench was created when the Pacific Plate colided with the Okhotsk plate, crumpling the Okhotsk's edge, sliding underneath, subtracting surface area and creating a trench. As the plate slides farther and farther down, the rock begins to melt from extreme heat. Since the molten rock is less dense than the surrounding rock, it begins to rise to the surface, creating magma pools and eventually erupting. This process is known as convergent subduction.

http://www.uoguelph.ca/geology/geol2250/glossary/HTML%20files/subduction1.jpg

Convergent Subduction

http://images.wisegeek.com/subduction.jpg

Convergent Subduction

Subducion zones are famous for having many volcanoes and many eruptions. In fact, the Japan Trench is located on the infamous ring of fire. As you may alreay know, the earthquake on march 11, 2011 occured along the Japan Trench. The Japan trench is suprisingly not known for erruptions. The rest of Japan however, has many active volacnoes that erupt quite frequently. Well, It's a quarter after midnight now, and I have a big day ahead. I guess I better get some rest. See you later!