Kazuaki Ohta

Deep low-frequency earthquakes in tremor localize to the plate interface in multiple subduction zones

Deep tremor under Shikoku, Japan, consists primarily, and perhaps entirely, of swarms of low-frequency earthquakes (LFEs) that occur as shear slip on the plate interface. Although tremor is observed at other plate boundaries, the lack of cataloged low-frequency earthquakes has precluded a similar conclusion about tremor in those locales. We use a network autocorrelation approach to detect and locate LFEs within tremor recorded at three subduction zones characterized by different thermal structures and levels of interplate seismicity: southwest Japan, northern Cascadia, and Costa Rica. In each case we find that LFEs are the primary constituent of tremor and that they locate on the deep continuation of the plate boundary. This suggests that tremor in these regions shares a common mechanism and that temperature is not the primary control on such activity. Citation: Brown, J.R., G. C. Beroza, S. Ide, K. Ohta, D. R. Shelly, S. Y. Schwartz, W. Rabbel, M. Thorwart, and H. Kao (2009), Deep low-frequency earthquakes in tremor localize to the plate interface in multiple subduction zones, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L19306, doi:10.1029/2009GL040027.

A precise hypocenter determination method using network correlation coefficients and its application to deep low-frequency earthquakes

A knowledge of the precise locations of deep low-frequency earthquakes (LFEs) along subduction zones is essential to be able to constrain the spatial extent of various slow earthquakes and the underlying physical processes. We have developed a hypocenter determination method that utilizes the summed cross-correlation coefficient over many stations, denoted a network correlation coefficient (NCC). The method consists of two parts: (1) an estimation of relative hypocenter locations for every pair of events by a grid search, and (2) a linear least squares inversion for self-consistent relative hypocenter locations for the initial centroid. We have applied this method to ten LFEs in the Tokai region, Japan. Statistically significant values of NCC indicate the relative locations for many pairs, which in turn determine the self-consistent locations. While the catalog depths are widely distributed, the relocated hypocenters fall within a 2-km depth range, which implies that LFEs in the Tokai region occur on the plate interface, similar to LFEs in western Shikoku.

Resolving the Detailed Spatiotemporal Slip Evolution of Deep Tremor in Western Japan

We study the detailed spatiotemporal behavior of deep tremor in western Japan through the development and application of a new slip inversion method. Although many studies now recognize tremor as shear slip along the plate interface manifested in low frequency earthquake (LFE) swarms, a conventional slip inversion analysis is not available for tremor due to insufficient knowledge of source locations and Greens functions. Here we introduce synthetic template waveforms, which are typical tremor waveforms obtained by stacking LFE seismograms at arranged points along the plate interface. Using these synthetic template waveforms as substitutes for Greens functions, we invert the continuous tremor waveforms using an iterative deconvolution approach with Bayesian constraints. We apply this method to two tremor burst episodes in western and central Shikoku, Japan. The estimated slip distribution from a 12-day tremor burst episode in western Shikoku is heterogeneous, with several patchy areas of slip along the plate interface where rapid moment releases with durations of <100 s regularly occur. We attribute these heterogeneous spatiotemporal slip patterns to heterogeneous material properties along the plate interface. For central Shikoku, where we focus on a tremor burst episode that occurred coincidentally with a very low frequency earthquake (VLF), we observe that the source size of the VLF is much larger than that estimated from tremor activity in western Shikoku. These differences in the size of the slip region may dictate the visibility of VLF signals in observed seismograms, which has implications for the mechanics of slow earthquakes and subduction zone processes.

Mathematical review on source-type diagrams

A source-type diagram is a visualization tool used to display earthquake sources, including double-couples, compensated linear vector dipoles, and isotropic deformation. Together with recent observations of non-double-couple events in a variety of tectonic settings, it is important to be able to recognize the source type intuitively from a representative diagram. Since previous works have proposed diagrams created using a range of projections, we review these diagrams in the framework of the moment tensor eigenvalue space. For further applications, we also provide complete formulas for conversion between moment tensor representation and the coordinate system of each diagram style. Using both a global catalog and synthetic data, we discuss differences between types of diagrams and the relative effectiveness of each.

Tidal Response in Shallow Tectonic Tremors

Various types of slow earthquakes (e.g., tectonic tremors and slow slip events) have been reported in tectonic zones, especially in the subduction zone. The tidal response of a tremor is considered to be strongly related to the weak friction state of the plate interface, and many studies have reported observational evidence of such correlation between tides and deep tremor activity. Here, we used the modified frequency scanning method at a single station to detect micro tectonic tremors that have not been previously reported in southern Kyushu. In the early stage of the tremor activity, tremors are mostly modulated by slow slip events. In contrast, we found a seismic response to ocean tides during the later stage in the shallower part of the subduction zone. This might indicate that the tremors are triggered by tidal changes caused by fault weakening due to slow slip events as same as deeper condition.