Slab2 - A Comprehensive Subduction Zone Geometry Model, Scotia Sea Region

Subduction zones are home to the most seismically active faults on the planet. The shallow megathrust interface of subduction zones host our largest earthquakes, and are the only faults capable of M9+ ruptures. Despite these facts, our knowledge of subduction zone geometry - which likely plays a key role in determining the spatial extent and ultimately the size of subduction zone earthquakes - is incomplete. Here we calculate the three- dimensional geometries of all active global subduction zones. The resulting model - Slab2 - provides for the first time a comprehensive geometrical analysis of all known slabs in unprecedented detail.

Data and Resources

Field Value
accessLevel public
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identifier USGS:5aa41674e4b0b1c392eaaf31
metadata_type geospatial
modified 20200818
old-spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[-32.0, -63.0], [-32.0, -52.0], [ -20.0, -52.0], [ -20.0, -63.0], [-32.0, -63.0]]]}
publisher U.S. Geological Survey
publisher_hierarchy Department of the Interior > U.S. Geological Survey
resource-type Dataset
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spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[-32.0, -63.0], [-32.0, -52.0], [ -20.0, -52.0], [ -20.0, -63.0], [-32.0, -63.0]]]}
theme {geospatial}
Groups
  • AmeriGEOSS
  • National Provider
  • North America
Tags
  • amerigeo
  • amerigeoss
  • ckan
  • earth-science
  • earthquake-hazard
  • earthquake-hazards-program
  • ehp
  • geo
  • geologic-hazards-science-center
  • geoss
  • ghsc
  • large-earthquake-ruptures
  • national
  • north-america
  • shallow-megathrust-interface
  • subduction-zone
  • subduction-zone-geometry-model
  • united-states
  • usgs
  • usgs-5aa41674e4b0b1c392eaaf31
isopen False
license_id notspecified
license_title License not specified
maintainer Gavin Hayes
maintainer_email ghayes@usgs.gov
metadata_created 2025-11-21T18:22:26.551851
metadata_modified 2025-11-21T18:22:26.551855
notes Subduction zones are home to the most seismically active faults on the planet. The shallow megathrust interface of subduction zones host our largest earthquakes, and are the only faults capable of M9+ ruptures. Despite these facts, our knowledge of subduction zone geometry - which likely plays a key role in determining the spatial extent and ultimately the size of subduction zone earthquakes - is incomplete. Here we calculate the three- dimensional geometries of all active global subduction zones. The resulting model - Slab2 - provides for the first time a comprehensive geometrical analysis of all known slabs in unprecedented detail.
num_resources 2
num_tags 20
title Slab2 - A Comprehensive Subduction Zone Geometry Model, Scotia Sea Region