Gen Aoki

Configuration of subducting Philippine Sea plate and crustal structure in the central Japan region

A seismic experiment with six explosive sources and 391 seismic stations was conducted in August 2001 in the central Japan region. The crustal velocity structure for the central part of Japan and configuration of the subducting Philippine Sea plate were revealed. A large lateral variation of the thickness of the sedimentary layer was observed, and the P-wave velocity values below the sedimentary layer obtained were 5.3–5.8 km/s. P-wave velocity values for the lower part of upper crust and lower crust were estimated to be 6.0–6.4 and 6.6–6.8 km/s, respectively. The reflected wave from the upper boundary of the subducting Philippine Sea plate was observed on the record sections of several shots. The configuration of the subducting Philippine Sea slab was revealed for depths of 20–35 km. The dip angle of the Philippine Sea plate was estimated to be 268 for a depth range of about 20–26 km. Below this depth, the upper boundary of the subducting Philippine Sea plate is distorted over a depth range of 26–33 km. A large variation of the reflected-wave amplitude with depth along the subducting plate was observed. At a depth of about 20–26 km, the amplitude of the reflected wave is not large, and is explained by the reflected wave at the upper boundary of the subducting oceanic crust. However, the reflected wave from reflection points deeper than 26 km showed a large amplitude that cannot be explained by several reliable velocity models. Some unique seismic structures have to be considered to explain the observed data. Such unique structures will provide important information to know the mechanism of inter-plate earthquakes. D 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Revisiting the three M~7 Miyagi-oki earthquakes in the 1930s: possible seismogenic slip on asperities that were re-ruptured during the 1978 M=7.4 Miyagi-oki earthquake

Hypocenters of main shocks and aftershocks of the 1933 M=7.1, 1936 M=7.4, 1937 M=7.1 and 1978 M=7.4 Miyagi-oki earthquakes are relocated using S-P times reported in the Seismological Bulletin of the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) and those re-read from original smoked-paper seismograms observed at the Mizusawa station of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) and the Mukaiyama station of Tohoku University. In order to reduce the error caused by inaccuracies of the arrival times and the small number of seismic observation stations, we determined the hypocenters by using a grid search method that assumed that the events occurred at the boundary between the subducting Pacific plate and the overriding plate. The main shock epicenters of these four earthquakes were determined to be close to each other, while the distributions of their aftershocks seem to disperse on the upper boundary of the Pacific plate. These distributions show that aftershock areas of the 1933, 1936 and 1937 events partly overlap with that of the 1978 event and occupy its easternmost, central and westernmost portions, respectively. This result suggests that the 1933, 1936 and 1937 events possibly ruptured a part of the source area of the 1978 event, i.e., its eastern, central and western portions, respectively.

Hypocenter distribution of the main- and aftershocks of the 2005 Off Miyagi Prefecture earthquake located by ocean bottom seismographic data

The preliminary hypocenter distribution of the 2005 Off Miyagi Prefecture earthquake and its aftershocks is estimated using data from five ocean bottom and six onshore seismic stations located around the rupture area of the earthquake. The epicenter of the mainshock is relocated at 38.17°N, 142.18°E, and the focal depth is estimated to be 37.5 km. The aftershocks surrounding the mainshock hypocenter form several clusters that are concentrated along a distinct landward dipping plane corresponding to the plate boundary imaged by the previous seismic experiment. The strike and dip angles of the plane agree well with those of the focal mechanism solution of the mainshock. The size of the plane is about 20×25 km2 in the strike and dip directions, which is similar to that of the large coseismic slip area. The up-dip end of the planar distribution of the aftershocks corresponds to the bending point of the subducting oceanic plate, suggesting that the geometry of the plate boundary affects the spatial extent of the asperity of the 2005 earthquake