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Shear wave velocity (Vs) estimations of accretionary prisms can pose unique constraints to the physical properties of rocks, which are hard to obtain from compressional velocities (Vp) alone. Thus, it would help better understand the fluid processes of the accretion system. This study investigates the Vs structure of the Hyuga‐nada accretionary prism using an array of ocean‐bottom seismometers (OBSs) with a 2 km radius. Teleseismic Green's functions and a surface wave dispersion curve are inverted to one‐dimensional Vs structures using transdimensional inversion. The results indicate the presence of a low‐velocity zone 3–4 km below the seafloor. The reduced Vs corresponds to a reduced Vp feature obtained in a previous seismic refraction survey, and the high Vp/Vs ratio suggests the presence of high pore fluid pressure. In addition, the resolved lithological boundary exhibits a sharp offset that extends laterally across the OBS array. We attribute this offset to a blind fault below while acknowledging other possibilities, such as due to mud diapirism or intense fracturing. The predicted fault is located at the Kyushu–Palau Ridge flank, oriented roughly parallel to the ridge axis, and thus likely caused by ridge subduction. This fault may act as a fluid conduit, contributing to the formation of a fluid reservoir beneath the compacted sediment layers. Plain Language Summary: Propagation speeds of seismic S‐waves offer unique constraints on physical properties in shallow subduction zones, which is hard to know from only seismic P‐wave velocity. This study investigates the subsurface structure in Hyuga‐nada in the southwestern Japan subduction zone by exploring S‐wave speeds. For this purpose, we use natural seismic and noise data recorded by densely installed ocean‐bottom seismometers. The results reveal a region with a reduced S‐wave velocity at a depth of ∼3–4 km below the seafloor, which may be a water reservoir. The depth of the potential water reservoir changes abruptly across the array. This offset may suggest the presence of a hidden fault below, although we cannot exclude other possibilities. We propose that a fault created by subducting seamounts acts as a conduit that transports water to the reservoir. Key Points: The shear wave velocity structures of the shallow Hyuga‐nada accretionary prism were derived using a passive seismic arrayA low shear‐wave velocity zone exists ∼3–4 km below the seafloor, possibly indicative of a fluid reservoirA Fault induced by the subducting Kyushu–Palau Ridge may act as a fluid pathway, supplying fluids to the reservoir [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reference 1 Yamaya L, Mochizuki K, Akuhara T, Takemura S, Shinohara M, Yamada T. CMT inversion for small-to-moderate earthquakes applying to dense short-period OBS array at off Ibaraki region. 3 Result of the CMT inversions for the earthquake (Mw 4.0) that occurred at 9:06, March 16, 2011 (JST). a Centroid location of the earthquake and the OBS array. [Extracted from the article]

Receiver functions, calculated by deconvolving P (or vertical) component records of teleseismic waveforms from the corresponding SV (or radial) components, have been widely used to obtain receiver‐side Green's functions in an approximate form. Conventional receiver function methods, however, often fail due to numerical instability of the deconvolution and strong multiples on the P components. These problems become severe when analyzing in high frequency and using data from ocean bottom seismometers (OBSs). We present a novel technique to estimate Green's functions of receiver‐side structure from teleseismic P waveforms. In this method, two components of Green's functions, which are assumed to form a series of pulses, are directly related in a single equation without explicit deconvolution. Based on the equation, we construct posterior probability distributions regarding the number of pulses, their timing, and amplitudes within a transdimensional Bayesian framework. A reversible‐jump Markov chain Monte Carlo method is used for this purpose, and we further utilize a parallel tempering method to achieve rapid convergence. Synthetic tests and application to an OBS installed at the Yamato Basin, the Sea of Japan, show that the proposed method can estimate radial‐component Green's functions more accurately than conventional receiver function methods. We suggest that the high‐frequency Green's functions estimated by the new method can be used to reveal fine‐scale (in order ~100 m) structure of the seafloor sediment. Plain Language Summary: The receiver function is a popular tool in geophysics. It extracts useful signals from the waves of distant earthquakes to investigate the Earth's subsurface structures. However, computing receiver functions is difficult under certain conditions; (1) when working with high‐frequency waves, the receiver function method becomes unstable; (2) when working with data from the ocean bottom or sedimentary basins, strong reverberations within the sediment or from the ocean surface are troublesome. This study provides a new technique that can clear these issues, making use of advanced statistical methods. We demonstrate its advantage over the conventional receiver function methods through both simulations and a real application to an ocean bottom seismometer. We suggest that the new method has the potential to reveal fine‐scale Earth structure even beneath the seafloor. Key Points: We propose a method that estimates Green's functions of receiver‐side structure from teleseismic waveforms by transdimensional inversionThe new method does not require deconvolution and is suited to the analysis of challenging (e.g., high frequency or offshore) data setsWe demonstrate the advantage of the new method through synthetic tests and the application to real offshore data [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]