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An intraplate slow earthquake was detected in northernmost Hokkaido, Japan, by a dense network of the global navigation satellite system. Transient abnormal acceleration of

The Okhotsk deep focus earthquake (M w = 8.3), the largest in the history of instrumental seismology, occurred on May 24, 2013, at 05:45 UTC in the Sea of Okhotsk near the western coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula. For the first time we have succeeded in catching the field of horizontal and vertical coseismic offsets generated by a strong deep seismic event, and investigating its characteristics using continuous GPS measurements. Based on these data and taking into account the seismological information, we have developed a dislocation model of the Okhotsk deep focus earthquake.

Continuous GPS observations, for over two years, detected long-term postseismic deformation after the 2008 Iwate-Miyagi Nairiku earthquake (Mj 7.2). The displacement field exhibits ESE-WNW shortening and subsidence near the focal area. These features are attributed to a viscoelastic relaxation caused by the mainshock. A simple two-layered structural model, which consists of an elastic layer having a thickness of 19.0–23.5 km and an underlying Maxwell viscoelastic layer having a viscosity of 2.4–4.8 × 1018 Pa s, explains the far-field deformation pattern, which probably reflects the viscoelastic response exclusively. These estimated parameters are consistent with the deeper limit of the seismogenic layer in the upper crust and the previous rheological model in northeastern Japan. However, near-field deformation requires additional sources in order to reproduce the observed postseismic deformation, such as long-term afterslip and/or a complicated response due to the highly heterogeneous structure suggested by seismic tomography studies.

SUMMARY In order to investigate the strain accumulation process around the Niigata-Kobe Tectonic Zone in central Japan, we estimate a precise GPS velocity field around a representative fault area, the Atotsugawa fault system. The velocity profiles obtained from two dense GPS arrays crossing the Atotsugawa fault demonstrate the existence of a laterally heterogeneous deformation pattern along the fault strike. The West Array suggests the possibility of surface fault creep, which disagrees with inferences gleaned from previous EDM measurements. High shear strain rate, which is calculated from wider velocity field, distributes around not only the Atotsugawa fault system, but also the Takayama-Oppara fault zone, which is located 50 km south from the Atotsugawa fault. In order to consider the effect of interaction between those active faults, we conduct a block-fault model analysis. Our block model consists of nine blocks and 33 fault segments. Relative motion between two blocks at the northern and southern ends of the fault system is calculated to be 9.9 mm yr−1. The intervening region between these two blocks corresponds to the Niigata-Kobe Tectonic Zone with a strain rate of 0.2 ppm yr−1. Slip deficit rates at the Atotsugawa, Ushikubi, and Takayama-Oppara fault zones are estimated to be 2.2, 3.9 and 2.3 mm yr−1, respectively. Although the ratio of slip deficit rate (2.2 : 3.9 : 2.3 ≈ 1 : 2 : 1) of these three faults is similar to that of geological long-term slip rates (1 : 2 : 0.7), the magnitude of geodetic slip deficits is 30 per cent to 50 per cent larger than long-term slip rates. This systematic difference may be due to inelastic deformation of the crust in this region. Since the total slip deficit rate between the Ushikubi and the Takayama-Oppara fault zone is 8.4 mm yr−1, about 85 per cent of the relative block motion, the deformation is mostly accommodated by elastic strain accumulation on these three faults.

Strain concentration zones (SCZs), in which the E–W contraction under a slow tectonic loading is larger than the surrounding area, in NE Japan have been attributed to low viscosity anomalies (LVAs) in their lower crust. The 2011 Tohoku-oki earthquake (Mw9.0) induced a stepwise stress change over NE Japan. The coseismic E–W extension in the SCZ along the Ou backbone Range (OBR) was smaller than theoretical one, whereas it was larger in the forearc SCZ (FSCZ). This suggests variation in rheological structure beneath the SCZs. We numerically evaluated responses of variety of rheological models to the tectonic slow loading and the coseismic instantaneous unloading. A model with a viscoelastic upper crust, which is caused by high temperature relating to magmatic processes along volcanic front, below the OBR can reproduce the observed deformations in the OBR. The surface deformations in the FSCZ were explained as enhanced deformations of thick, compliant sediment. The viscoelasticity in the upper crust was not allowed beneath the FSCZ. LVA in the lower crust was not essential to reproduce the preseismic and the coseismic deformation anomalies in the FSCZ. However, the postseismic deformation was strongly affected by the existence of LVA in the lower crust. Precise observations of the postseismic deformations should provide key clues to elucidate the rheological structure beneath the FSCZ.

[1] Using GPS observations, we have detected an aseismic slip event on the intraplate Dedana Fault that was triggered by the Iwate-Miyagi Nairiku earthquake (Mw6.8, 13 Jun 2008 UTC) on a nearby but separate fault. The observations cannot be satisfactorily explained in terms of either viscoelastic relaxation or poroelastic rebound, and we cannot explain the observed displacement time series without presuming that aseismic slip occurred on the Dedana Fault. This slip was likely triggered by the mainshock stress change. The detection of future such aseismic slip events on intraplate faults is likely to require denser geodetic networks than are currently in operation, but is important for fully characterizing the seismic hazard associated with intraplate earthquakes.

We investigated the crustal deformation associated with the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake (M 9.0) that occurred on March 11, 2011, along the plate boundary off Tohoku district, northeastern Japan, based on dense GPS observation. Coseismic displacements due to this event were applied to estimate the causal interplate slip by means of a geodetic inversion analysis. The major slip area is located around the asperities of the 1981 Miyagi-oki (M 7.2) and 2003 Fukushima-oki (M 6.8) earthquakes and the maximum slip is estimated as being up to 35 m. The estimated slip distribution suggests that the asperities of the Miyagi-oki earthquake in 1978 (M 7.4) that had not been ruptured during the Miyagi-oki earthquake in 2005 were ruptured as a part of the main shock fault of the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake.

We propose a source fault model for the 2011, April 7, earthquake (M 7.1) deduced from a dense GPS network. The coseismic displacements obtained by GPS data analysis clearly show the spatial pattern specific to intraslab earthquakes, not only in the horizontal components but also the vertical ones. A rectangular fault with uniform slip was estimated by a non-linear inversion approach. The results indicate that the simple rectangular fault model can explain the overall features of the observations. The amount of moment released is equivalent to Mw 7.17. The hypocenter depth of the main shock estimated by the Japan Meteorological Agency is slightly deeper than the neutral plane between down-dip compression (DC) and down-dip extension (DE) stress zones of the double-planed seismic zone. This suggests that the depth of the neutral plane was deepened by the huge slip of the 2011, M 9.0, Tohoku Earthquake, and the rupture of the thrust M 7.1 earthquake was initiated at that depth, although more investigations are required to confirm this idea. The estimated fault plane has an angle of ∼60 degrees from the surface of the subducting Pacific plate. It is consistent with the hypothesis that intraslab earthquakes are thought to be a reactivation of the pre-existing hydrated weak zones produced in the bending process of oceanic plates around outer-rise regions.

A large earthquake ofMj7.2 occurred on June 14, 2008, beneath the border between Iwate and Miyagi prefectures in northeastern Japan. We propose a simple rectangular fault model based on a dense GPS network, including continuous GPS sites run by four agencies, to describe the coseismic deformation. The coseismic displacements are estimated by kinematic PPP (precise point positioning) analysis. Near the hypocenter, colocated independent instruments (integrated accelerogram and kinematic PPP) measure the same large displacement caused by the mainshock. The fault model explains the observations well and reproduces the observed complex spatial pattern, especially around the northern part of the focal area, which is the focus of a debate on whether or not the coseismic slip occurred on the Dedana fault system. Our results show that no major slip on the Dedana fault system occurred. The estimated amount of moment release was equivalent toMw6.9, and the maximum slip reached 3.5 m on the southern sub-fault.