Yuichi Sugiyama

Basin‐centered asperities in great subduction zone earthquakes: A link between slip, subsidence, and subduction erosion?

[1]xa0Published areas of high coseismic slip, or asperities, for 29 of the largest Circum-Pacific megathrust earthquakes are compared to forearc structure revealed by satellite free-air gravity, bathymetry, and seismic profiling. On average, 71% of an earthquakes seismic moment and 79% of its asperity area occur beneath the prominent gravity low outlining the deep-sea terrace; 57% of an earthquakes asperity area, on average, occurs beneath the forearc basins that lie within the deep-sea terrace. In SW Japan, slip in the 1923, 1944, 1946, and 1968 earthquakes was largely centered beneath five forearc basins whose landward edge overlies the 350°C isotherm on the plate boundary, the inferred downdip limit of the locked zone. Basin-centered coseismic slip also occurred along the Aleutian, Mexico, Peru, and Chile subduction zones but was ambiguous for the great 1964 Alaska earthquake. Beneath intrabasin structural highs, seismic slip tends to be lower, possibly due to higher temperatures and fluid pressures. Kilometers of late Cenozoic subsidence and crustal thinning above some of the source zones are indicated by seismic profiling and drilling and are thought to be caused by basal subduction erosion. The deep-sea terraces and basins may evolve not just by growth of the outer arc high but also by interseismic subsidence not recovered during earthquakes. Basin-centered asperities could indicate a link between subsidence, subduction erosion, and seismogenesis. Whatever the cause, forearc basins may be useful indicators of long-term seismic moment release. The source zone for Cascadias 1700 A.D. earthquake contains five large, basin-centered gravity lows that may indicate potential asperities at depth. The gravity gradient marking the inferred downdip limit to large coseismic slip lies offshore, except in northwestern Washington, where the low extends landward beneath the coast. Transverse gravity highs between the basins suggest that the margin is seismically segmented and could produce a variety of large earthquakes.

Deterministic and probabilistic seismic hazard analyses in Thailand and adjacent areas using active fault data

Seismic hazards in Thailand and adjacent areas were analyzed mainly on the basis of geological fault data. We identified 55 active fault zones using remote-sensing data on earthquake source parameters derived from both active fault data and earthquake catalogues. We selected strong ground-motion attenuation models by comparing the application of several candidate models with strong ground-motion data recorded in Thailand. Both deterministic (DSHA) and probabilistic (PSHA) approaches were used—DSHA for the design of critical construction and PSHA for the design of non-critical construction. We also applied two frequency-magnitude models in the PSHA approach: the exponential magnitude distribution model and the characteristic earthquake model. The seismic hazard results obtained using the deterministic and probabilistic approaches are not equivalent. The resulting DSHA map reveals extremely high seismic hazard levels in some areas of Thailand and in surrounding countries, while the PSHA map reveals a seismic hazard distribution similar to that of the DSHA but with lower seismic hazard levels. The areas of high seismic hazard include countries neighboring Thailand, such as Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, and Indonesia (Sumatra Island), and areas within Thailand itself, primarily those areas in northern, western, and southern Thailand that are dominated by active fault zones.

Holocene ages and inland source of wood blocks that emerged onto the seafloor during the 2007 Chuetsu-oki, central Japan, earthquake

At least 300 tons of subrounded to well-rounded wood blocks emerged onto the seafloor at a water depth of 70–100 m during the 2007 Mw 6.6 Chuetsu-oki, central Japan, earthquake. Radiocarbon dating and taxonomic identification of eight of those wood blocks suggest that they were transported from inland during the middle to late Holocene, buried by subsequent sedimentation, and brought up onto the seafloor in 2007, most likely by submarine liquefaction induced by strong shaking. In particular, all eight blocks gave ages older than 2500 cal yr BP, implying the possibility that the 2007 earthquake was the first earthquake during the last two millennia to have caused shaking strong enough to induce submarine liquefaction in the 2007 meizoseismal area. However, we cannot rule out the possibility of multiple large earthquakes after approximately 2 ka, if the buried wood sources cannot be emptied by a single earthquake. Further studies are required to examine paleoseismic implications of the emergence of these wood blocks in 2007.