Philippine Sea Plate
Ocean bottom seismography methods combined with earthquake studies of the Benioff zone constrain the dip angle of the Philippine Sea Plate along the Ryukyu trench. In the Northern part of the Ryukyu trench, the dip of the Philippine Sea Plate is shallow at shallow depth, reaching only about 11° in the first 50 km, and steeper at deeper depths, reaching 70° below about 70 km. In contrast, the slab dip in the central and southern parts of the Ryukyu trench is more gentle, reaching only 40-50° at 70 km depth.