Temporal variation of intermediate-depth earthquakes around the time of the M9.0 Tohoku-oki earthquake

Delbridge, Brent G.; Kita, Saeko; Uchida, Naoki; Johnson, Christopher W.; Matsuzawa, Toru; Bürgmann, Roland

doi:10.1002/2017GL072876

Title: Temporal variation of intermediate-depth earthquakes around the time of the M9.0 Tohoku-oki earthquake

Journal Article · 05 April 2017 · Geophysical Research Letters

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL072876 · OSTI ID:1479311

^[1];

^[2];

^[3];

^[1]; Matsuzawa, Toru ^[3]; Bürgmann, Roland ^[1]

Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
Hiroshima Univ., Hiroshima (Japan)
Tohoku Univ., Sendai (Japan)

Here, the temporal evolution of intermediate-depth seismicity before and after the 2011 M9.0 Tohoku-oki earthquake reveals interactions between plate interface slip and deformation in the subducting slab. We investigate seismicity rate changes in the upper and lower planes of the double seismic zone beneath northeast Japan using both a β statistic approach and a temporal epidemic type aftershock sequence model. We do not observe an anomalous precursory increase in intermediate-depth earthquake activity preceding the mainshock; however, following the mainshock, we observe a rate increase for the intermediate-depth earthquakes in the upper plane. The average ratio of upper plane to lower plane activity and the mean deep aseismic slip rate both increased by factor of 2. An increase of downdip compression in the slab resulting from coseismic and postseismic deformation enhanced seismicity in the upper plane, which is dominated by events accommodating downdip shortening from plate unbending.

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Research Organization:: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-05CH11231

OSTI ID:: 1479311

Journal Information:: Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 44, Issue 8; ISSN 0094-8276

Publisher:: American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 11 works

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