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Several interplate seismic events, such as short-term slow slip events (S-SSEs) and low-frequency earthquakes (LFEs), have been identified in the Ryukyu Trench, southwestern Japan. As one of the specific characteristics of this seismicity, the depths at which S-SSEs occur at the plate interface beneath Okinawa Island are approximately 5–10 km shallower than those beneath the Yaeyama Islands. To elucidate the cause of this difference in depth, we constructed a three-dimensional, Cartesian thermomechanical subduction model and applied the subduction history of the Philippine Sea (PHS) plate in the model region. As a result, the interplate temperatures at which S-SSEs take place were estimated to range from 350 to 450 °C beneath Okinawa Island and from 500 to 600 °C beneath the Yaeyama Islands. The former temperature range is consistent with previous thermal modelling studies for the occurrence of slow earthquakes, but the latter temperature range is by approximately 150 °C higher than the former. Therefore, explaining how the depth difference in S-SSEs could be caused from the aspect of only the thermal regime is difficult. Using phase diagrams for hydrous minerals in the oceanic crust and mantle wedge, we also estimated the water content distribution on and above the plate interface of the PHS plate. Near the S-SSE fault planes, almost the same amount of dehydration associated with phase transformations of hydrous minerals from blueschist to amphibolite and from amphibolite to amphibole eclogite within the oceanic crust were inferred along Okinawa Island and the Yaeyama Islands, respectively. On the other hand, the phase transformations within the mantle wedge were inferred only beneath the Yaeyama Islands, whereas no specific phase transformation was inferred beneath Okinawa Island around the S-SSE occurrence region. Therefore, we conclude that dehydrated fluid derived from the oceanic crust at the plate interface would play a key role in the occurrence of S-SSEs.

The SW Japan arc built by subduction of the Philippine Sea (PHS) plate exhibits uneven distribution of volcanoes: thirteen Quaternary composite volcanoes form in the western half of this arc, Kyushu Island, while only two in the eastern half, Chugoku district. Reconstruction of the PHS plate back to 14 Ma, together with examinations based on thermal structure models constrained by high-density heat flow data and a petrological model for dehydration reactions suggest that fluids are discharged actively at depths of 90–100 km in the hydrous layer at the top of the old (> 50 Ma), hence, cold lithosphere sinking beneath Kyushu Island. In contrast, the young (15–25 Ma) oceanic crust downgoing beneath Chugoku district releases fluids largely at shallower depths, i.e. beneath the non-volcanic forearc, to cause characteristic tectonic tremors and low-frequency earthquakes (LFEs) and be the source of specific brine springs. Much larger amounts of fluids supplied to the magma source region in the western SW Japan arc could build more densely-distributed volcanoes.

Massive M>8 earthquakes have repeatedly struck the coastal Chilean subduction megathrust at intervals of nearly ten years, and such tsunamigenic earthquakes have caused recurrent damage. A widely accepted mature seismic gap along the strongly coupled plate interface in northern Chile was filled unexpectedly by the occurrence of the 2014 Mw 8.2 Iquique earthquake, which occurred 130 years after the previous quake. This event revealed that our understanding of the state of seismogenesis along the Chilean margin is still poor. This study aims at investigating the temperature and water content distributions within the Nazca slab along a large portion of the Chilean margin. We employ 3-D time-dependent thermomechanical numerical models that incorporate up-to-date slab geometry and phase diagrams of hydrous minerals in the subducting plate to study the north-central Chilean (19 °S–33 °S) coupled megathrust, including the region where the slab is subhorizontal (28 °S–32 °S). Our modeling results show that most shallow off- and onshore interplate earthquakes in north-central Chile in the last decade have been mainly controlled by the phase transformation from lawsonite blueschist to amphibolite at shallow depths. On the other hand, some of the deep subduction seismicity is in good agreement with eclogitization within the oceanic crust and formation of harzburgite in the ultramafic rock in the lower slab. The M > 6 interplate earthquakes are estimated to occur where our models predict slab temperatures less than 400–600 °C and slab dehydration less than 0.03–0.05 wt%/km. Slow slip events tend to occur in regions where interplate temperatures are 400–600 °C (0.03–0.05 wt%/km). The activity level of regional interplate earthquakes and slow slip events is interpreted to be affected by the fluid release from and the temperature distribution in the Nazca slab.

We describe a crustal deformation associated with seismovolcanic events in the Izu Islands that began at the end of June 2000; three faults were modeled for inversion, using the GNSS data provided by Geospatial Information Authority of Japan. After removing steps caused by antenna exchanges and five large earthquakes, annual and semiannual variation, a common mode error, and a linear trend from the raw data, we divided the processed time series into five 15-day periods. Three model faults that best explained the observed GNSS data for the entire period were randomly searched for in an area where the microearthquakes had occurred. The following three faults were identified: Fault 1, located to the Northwest near Niijima; Fault 2, which extended from Miyakejima to Kozushima; and Fault 3, located to the Southeast beneath Miyakejima. Then, we divided Faults 2 and 3 into several subfaults to perform more detailed inversion. Fault 3 deflated by 0.57 km3and the change in volume of Fault 2 was estimated as 0.74 km3after opening. Fault 1 slipped significantly right-lateral by 18.9 m, and the change in volume was estimated as 0.40 km3after opening. The total increase in volume for Faults 1 and 2 was greater than 0.57 km3,which was the total deflation for Fault 3, indicating that a magma supply from greater depths to Faults 1 and 2 was required. The estimated total volume of the deflation beneath Miyakejima of 0.57 km3almost coincided with the observed caldera collapse of 0.60 km3at Miyakejima.

Long-term slow slip events (L-SSEs) have repeatedly occurred beneath the Bungo Channel in southwestern Japan with durations of several months to a couple of years, with a recurrence interval of approximately 6 years. We estimated the spatiotemporal slip distributions of the 2018–2019 Bungo Channel L-SSE by inverting processed GNSS time series data. This event was divided into two subevents, with the first on the southwest side of the Bungo Channel from 2018.3 to 2018.7 and the second beneath the Bungo Channel from 2018.8 to 2019.4. Tectonic tremors became active on the downdip side of the L-SSE occurrence region when large slow slips took place beneath the Bungo Channel. Compared with the previous Bungo Channel L-SSEs, this spatiotemporal slip pattern and amount were similar to those of the 2002–2004 L-SSE. However, the slip expanded in the northeast and southwest directions in the latter half of the second subevent. The maximum amount of slip, the maximum slip velocity, the total released seismic moment, and the moment magnitude of the 2018–2019 L-SSE were estimated to be 28 cm, 54 cm/year, $$4.4 \times 10^{19}$$ 4.4 × 10 19 Nm, and 7.0, respectively, all of which were the largest among the 1996–1998, 2002–2004, 2009–2011, and 2018–2019 L-SSEs.

In Hyuga-nada, southern Kyushu in southwest Japan, afterslip events were found in association with the two large interplate earthquakes, which occurred on October 19 and December 3, 1996. In Kyushu, low-frequency earthquakes (LFEs) and tectonic tremors are not common, but a considerable concentration of tectonic tremors is observed beneath the Pacific coast of the Miyazaki prefecture. To investigate the generation mechanisms of these seismic events, we performed 2-D box-type time-dependent thermal modeling in southern Kyushu. As a result, the temperature range of the upper surface of the subducting Philippine Sea (PHS) plate, where the afterslip occurred, reached approximately 300 to 350 °C. The temperatures where the tectonic tremors occurred ranged from 450 to 650 °C in the mantle wedge corner. We also estimated the spatial distribution of water content within the subducting PHS plate, using phase diagrams of hydrous mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) and ultramafic rock. Then, we found that no characteristic phase transformations accompany the dehydration of the subducting PHS plate in the afterslip region, but phase transformation from lawsonite blueschist to lawsonite eclogite is expected within the oceanic crust of the PHS plate just below the active region of the tectonic tremors. Our estimated water content distribution is consistent with the VP/VS ratio calculated from the seismic tomography. Therefore, we conclude that the occurrence of the afterslip is controlled by the temperature condition at the plate boundary, and occurs near the down-dip limit of the seismogenic zone. On the other hand, determining the major factors leading to the occurrence of the tectonic tremors is difficult, we estimated the temperature in the mantle wedge is ranging from 450 °C to 650 °C, and dehydration of 1.0 wt% would be expected from the subducting PHS plate near the active region of the tectonic tremors.

Sucroferric oxyhydroxide (P-TOL® chewable tablets, 250 and 500 mg) is a phosphate binder for oral use; it is composed of polynuclear iron (III)-oxyhydroxide, sucrose, and starches, and is currently indicated for alleviating hyperphosphatemia in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) on dialysis. The results of non-clinical pharmacological studies have suggested that P-TOL consistently decreases serum phosphorus levels in the aqueous environment at pH levels similar to those in the gastrointestinal tract, thereby suppressing the progression of secondary hyperparathyroidism, aberrant calcification, and abnormal bone metabolism associated with hyperphosphatemia. Since the diameter of the P-TOL tablet exceeds 15 mm, it is manufactured with a doughnut-shape to minimize choking hazards. From the results of pharmaceutical studies, it was indicated that the P-TOL tablets promptly disintegrated in the gastrointestinal tract and excessive iron uptake from this product is unlikely to occur. In clinical studies, P-TOL (one tablet/dose, t.i.d.) decreased serum phosphorus levels during treatment Week 1 and allowed stable, long-term control of serum phosphorus levels. Furthermore, P-TOL was expected to reduce the tablet burden on patients and to improve medication adherence. The most common adverse reaction was diarrhea. However, in most cases, the symptoms were mild and oral administration of P-TOL could be continued. Although iron-related parameters tended to increase, iron uptake from this product was low, and the risk of iron overload was considered to be low. These findings confirm the efficacy and safety of P-TOL in CKD patients with hyperphosphatemia. Therefore, sucroferric oxyhydroxide therapy is a potentially useful treatment option for hyperphosphatemia.

Research Center for Urban Safety and Security of Kobe University; JSPS KAKENHI grant [15H01140]

Giant earthquakes have repeatedly ruptured the Cascadia subduction zone, and similar earthquakes will likely also occur there in the near future. We employ a 3-D time-dependent thermomechanical model that incorporates an up-to-date description of the slab geometry to study the Cascadia subduction thrust. Results show a distinct band of 3-D slab dehydration that extends from Vancouver Island to the Seattle Basin and farther southward to the Klamath Mountains in northern California, where episodic tremors cluster. This distribution appears to include a region of increased dehydration in northern Cascadia. The phenomenon of heterogeneous megathrust seismicity associated with oblique subduction suggests that the presence of fluid-rich interfaces generated by slab dehydration favors megathrust seismogenesis in the northern part of this zone. The thin, relatively weakly metamorphosed Explorer, Juan de Fuca, and Gorda Plates are associated with an anomalous lack of thrust earthquakes, and metamorphism that occurs at temperatures of 500–700°C near the Moho discontinuity may represent a key factor in explaining the presence of the associated episodic tremor and slip (ETS), which requires a young oceanic plate to subduct at a small dip angle, as is the case in Cascadia and southwestern Japan. The 3-D intraslab dehydration distribution suggests that the metamorphosed plate environment is more complex than had previously been believed, despite the existence of channeling vein networks. Slab amphibolization and eclogitization near the continental Moho depth is thus inferred to account for the resultant overpressurization at the interface, facilitating the generation of ETS and the occurrence of small to medium thrust earthquakes beneath Cascadia.

We developed a 3-D thermal convection model to estimate the thermal regime, water content distribution, and slab dehydration beneath southwestern and central Japan, where deep tectonic tremors and short-term slow slip events (S-SSEs) are frequently observed on the plate interface extending from the western Shikoku to the Tokai district. The results showed that the pressure-temperature (P-T) conditions for the S-SSEs, deep tectonic tremors, and regular earthquakes indicate that they probably originated from slab dehydration in association with subduction, resulting in a phase transformation from prehnite-actinolite/lawsonite blueschist to amphibolite with a large thermal gradient. Slab dehydration and the thermal gradient in the dip direction are considered key factors for controlling the seismogenesis of slow and regular earthquakes in the Philippine Sea plate beneath southwestern and central Japan, although the deep tectonic tremors are more complicated because they are likely favored by a comparatively low temperature gradient in southwestern Japan.

Although the thermal regime of the interface between two overlapping subducting plates, such as those beneath Kanto, Japan, is thought to play an important role in affecting the distribution of interplate and intraslab earthquakes, the estimation of the thermal regime remains challenging to date. We constructed a three-dimensional (3-D) thermal convection model to simulate the subduction of the Pacific plate along the Japan Trench and Izu-Bonin Trench, including the subduction of the Philippine Sea beneath Kanto and investigated the slab thermal regime and slab water contents in this complex tectonic setting. Based on the subduction parameters tested in generic models with two flat oceanic plates, a faster or thicker plate subducting in a more trench-normal direction produces a colder slab thermal regime. The interplate temperature of the cold anomaly beneath offshore Kanto was approximately 300°C colder than that beneath offshore Tohoku at a same depth of 40 km and approximately 600°C colder at a depth of 70 km. The convergence between the two subducting plates produces an asymmetric thermal structure in the slab contact zone beneath Kanto, which is characterized by clustered seismicity in the colder southwestern half. The thermo-dehydration state of the mid-ocean ridge basalt near the upper surface of the subducted Pacific plate controls the interplate seismicity beneath the Kanto-Tohoku region according to the spatial concurrence of the thermo-dehydration and seismicity along the megathrust fault zone of the subducted Pacific plate.

In this study, we performed two-dimensional numerical simulations of temperature distribution associated with subduction of the Philippine Sea (PHS) plate, and estimated the dehydration process of hydrous mid-ocean-ridge basalt (MORB) in the oceanic crust in the Tokai district, central Japan. We discuss the relationship among temperature, dehydration, and a seismogenic zone of an expected megathrust Tokai earthquake, and the occurrence of a slow slip event (SSE) and deep low-frequency earthquakes (LFEs). The depth range of the seismogenic zone for the megathrust earthquake was estimated to be 8–22 km, narrowing toward the east. The most suitable value of the pore pressure ratio on the plate interface was estimated to be 0.97, indicating minimal frictional heating there. The temperatures of the upper surface of the PHS plate, where the Tokai SSE occurred from 2000 to 2005, were estimated to be 350–450 °C. Therefore, the Tokai SSE is considered to have occurred at the transition zone between unstable and stable sliding. In addition, hydrous MORB was transformed from blueschist into greenschist near the region where the Tokai SSE occurred. The temperatures of the upper surface of the PHS plate, where LFEs occur, were estimated to be 450–500 °C. Therefore, LFEs are considered to occur near the down-dip limit of the transition zone. The amount of dehydration from the oceanic crust of the subducting PHS plate near the region where LFEs are distributed in a belt-like form decreases toward the east with deepening of the hypocenters of the LFEs. Thus, the mechanisms of generation of LFEs in the Tokai district might differ from those in southwest and central Japan where LFEs generally occur at depths between 27 and 35 km. In summary, we consider that the occurrence of LFEs is related to both temperature conditions and dehydration process. However, there is an exceptional area in the eastern part of the Tokai district where the occurrence of LFEs is restricted by temperature conditions rather than dehydration from the oceanic crust because the hypocenter depth is greater than that in southwest and central Japan.

We investigated temperature and mantle flow distributions associated with subduction of the Philippine Sea (PHS) plate beneath southwest Japan, by constructing a three-dimensional parallelepiped model incorporating a past clockwise rotation, the bathymetry of the Philippine Sea plate, and distribution of the subducting velocity within its slab. The geometry of the subducting plate was inferred from contemporary seismic studies and was used as a slab guide integrated with historical plate rotation into the 3-D simulation. Using the model, we estimated a realistic and high-resolution temperature field on the subduction plate interface, which was constrained by a large number of heat flow data, and attempted to clarify its relationship with occurrences of megathrust earthquakes, long-term slow slip events (L-SSEs), and nonvolcanic low-frequency earthquakes (LFEs). Results showed that the oblique subduction coupled with the 3-D geometry of subducting PHS plate was a key factor affecting the interplate and intraplate temperature distributions, leading to a cold anomaly in the plate interface beneath western Shikoku, the Bungo Channel, and the Kii Peninsula. Temperatures in the slab core in these regions at a depth near the continental Moho were nearly 200°C lower than that in eastern Shikoku, indicating a high thermal lateral heterogeneity within the subducting plate. The geothermal control of the LFEs beneath western Shikoku was estimated to be within a range from 400 to 700°C, and the interplate temperature for the L-SSEs with a slip larger than 15 cm beneath the Bungo Channel was estimated to be approximately 350–500°C. A large horizontal temperature gradient of 2.5 ~ °C/km was present where the LFEs occurred repeatedly. The steep temperature change was likely to be related to the metamorphic phase transformation from lawsonite or blueschist to amphibolite of hydrous minerals of the mid-ocean ridge basalt of the subducting PHS plate.

The 30 May 2015 Chichi-jima M8 earthquake is one of the largest deep focus earthquakes ever recorded and its depth of 682 km puts it near the base of the mantle transition zone. Before source mechanisms and slip models of this earthquake can be reliably assessed, a better understanding of the tectonic setting and structures of the region near the origin is required. Here we present evidence from receiver functions, a method of isolating subsurface material contrast with converted seismic waves, that the earthquake initiated within the upper mantle transition zone, above a significantly depressed 660 km phase boundary. Additionally, we observe multiple conversions within and below the transition zone, which we associate with seismic waves passing into and out of segments of the subducting Pacific plate. From this, we infer slab material is piling up at the base of the transition zone and segments are penetrating into the lower mantle.

Sucroferric oxyhydroxide (P-TOL

Recent high-pressure and high-temperature experiments indicate that metastable olivine might persist in the cold core of a slab due to the low reaction rate of the olivine–wadsleyite phase transformation. Recent seismological observations detected a metastable olivine wedge that survives to a depth of 630 km in the Mariana slab. To consider the problem of non-equilibrium phase transformation, we developed a two-dimensional (2-D) Cartesian numerical code that incorporates the effects of kinetics into a thermal convection model. We consider the kinetics of the 410-km olivine–wadsleyite and the 660-km ringwoodite–Pv + Mw phase transformations, including the effects of water content at the 410-km phase boundary. The latent heat release of the 410-km non-equilibrium phase transformations inside the slab is also considered. The results show positive correlations between some of the controlling parameters and the length of the metastable olivine wedge: the faster the subducting velocity, and the lower the water content, the deeper is the metastable olivine wedge. With increasing depth of phase transformation, the effect of latent heat release is enhanced: heating of, at most, 100 °C occurs if olivine transforms into wadsleyite at a depth of approximately 570 km in our model setting. Temperature increase due to the latent heat released stimulates further phase transformation, resulting in further temperature increase, acting as a positive feedback effect. We also attempt to explain the seismological observations by calculating the temperature and phase structures in the Mariana slab. If we assume that the age of the Mariana slab is 150 Myr, the subduction velocity is 9.5 cm/yr, phase transformation occurs from the grain boundary of the parental phase, and the water content is 250 wt. ppm for a grain size of 1 mm, 300 wt. ppm for one of 5 mm, and 100 wt. ppm for intracrystalline transformation, then the metastable olivine wedge survives to a depth of 630 km, which is in good agreement with the seismological observations. This suggests that the deeper portion of the Mariana slab is relatively dry. Assuming that the depression of the 660-km discontinuity by ∼20–30 km within the Mariana slab, as is indicated by seismological observation, is explained by a combination of the depression caused by a negative Clapeyron slope in the cold slab and that due to the kinetics of the 660-km phase transformation, we obtain a gentle Clapeyron slope of −0.9 MPa/K for the phase transformation from ringwoodite to Pv + Mw.

We investigated the relationships among slab geometry, obliquity, and the thermal regime associated with the subduction of oceanic plates using a three-dimensional (3D) parallelepiped thermal convection model. Various models with convex and concave slab shapes were constructed in the numerical simulation, and the temperature and mantle flow distributions were calculated. The results revealed that when the slab dip angle increases, or the obliquity of subduction becomes steeper, the interplate temperature decreases remarkably. Cooler (warmer) zones on the plate interface were identified from the modeling where there was a larger (smaller) subduction angle. Consequently, the interplate temperature distribution is partly controlled by the true subduction angle (TSA), which is a function of the slab dip angle and the obliquity of subduction. The rate of change of the interface temperature for the TSA was 10–50 °C (10°< TSA

We predict, with a model (earthquake stress model) that inverts the displacements documented at 163 GNSS onshore stations of the GEONET, the change of shear and normal stresses on the megathrust near the Japan Trench over the seven years before the 2011 Mw 9.0 Tohoku-Oki earthquake. We find three areas on the megathrust with greater accumulations of shear and normal stresses before the earthquake, which match the ruptured areas of the mainshock and two largest aftershocks (Mw 7.8 and 7.4) that occurred within half an hour after the mainshock. We also find that the change of normal stress on the fault before the earthquake is not uniform but increases in the up-dip portion (shallower depth) of the fault from the hypocenter and decreases in the down-dip portion. We infer that the occurrence of the giant earthquake at the shallow portion of the megathrust may be attributed to the increase of the normal stress there, which leads to an increase of fault shear strength and allows more elastic strain energy to accumulate to prepare for the next big earthquake. Based on these results we propose a new concept of the seismogenic asperity as the area of greater accumulations of shear and normal stresses. The method presented here may be useful for predicting the rupture zone of future large earthquakes.

We apply a three-step approach to estimate three-dimensional (3-D) P wave attenuation (Qp−1) structure beneath northeastern Japan. First, corner frequencies of earthquakes are determined using the spectral-ratio method for S-coda waves. Then, whole-path attenuation terms, t*, and site-amplification factors are simultaneously estimated by a joint inversion. The set of t* is finally inverted for 3-D attenuation structure. The results show that the mantle wedge has low attenuation in the fore arc and high attenuation in the back arc. A depth profile of Qp−1 in the back-arc mantle is explained by attenuation expected for a two-dimensional (2-D) thermal model with Qp/Qs = 2 and grain sizes of 1 and 3 cm. However, an inclined high-attenuation zone observed in the back-arc mantle wedge, which is interpreted as an upwelling flow, shows higher attenuation than that calculated from the 2-D thermal model. The higher seismic attenuation is probably caused by the concentration of partial melt in the upwelling flow. A combined interpretation of seismic attenuation and velocity structures further suggests that the degree of partial melt in the upwelling flow varies along the arc and that volcanoes are clustered transverse to the arc, below which the upwelling flow contains a higher degree of melt. These observations indicate that magmatism is controlled by a mantle-wedge process that depends strongly on spatial variations in the degree of partial melt in the upwelling flow. Our results further imply the breakdown of hydrous minerals in a hydrous layer above the Pacific plate at a depth of ~120 km.

We estimated the slip-deficit rate distribution on the plate boundary between the subducting Philippine Sea plate and the continental Amurian plate along the Nankai Trough, southwest Japan. Horizontal and vertical displacement rates were calculated from land-based Global Positioning System (GPS) data during the 5-year period from 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2009. We employed an inversion analysis of geodetic data using Akaike's Bayesian information criterion (ABIC), including an indirect prior constraint that slip distribution is smooth to some extent and a direct prior constraint that slip is mainly oriented in the plate-convergent direction. The results show that a large slip deficit exists at depths ranging from 15 to 20 km on the plate boundary in a belt-like form. The maximum slip-deficit rate was identified off Shikoku and reached 6 cm/year. The slip-deficit rate differed by as much as 1 cm/year when using a different geometric model of the subducting plate. On the basis of the spatial distribution of estimation errors and the resolution of the obtained slip-deficit rate on the plate boundary, we also found that the offshore slip-deficit rate cannot be estimated with sufficient accuracy using only land-based GPS data. Therefore, we tested the improvement in results when introducing hypothetical ocean-bottom GPS stations. The stations were arranged in four along-arc and across-arc spacings of 80 km and 40 km. The ocean-bottom data improved the estimation errors and resolutions, and successful results were obtained for a checkerboard with each square 75 km × 76 km. Our results indicate that 40-km along-arc and across-arc two-dimensional spacing of ocean-bottom GPS stations is required to obtain reliable slip-deficit distributions near the trough axis, assuming the current estimation accuracy for ocean-bottom horizontal displacement rates.

In this study, we constructed a two-dimensional thermal convection model associated with subduction of the Philippine Sea (PHS) plate beneath southwest Japan to estimate the thermal state. To evaluate the validity of the calculated temperature distribution, we compared the calculated heat flows with observed heat flow data such as the High Sensitivity Seismograph Network Japan (Hi-net) borehole, land borehole, marine probe, and bottom-simulating reflectors. Hi-net heat flow data, which have never been used for thermal modeling, have spatially high resolutions on land and enable detailed estimation of the thermal state beneath the Japanese islands. We considered the spatio-temporal change in the age of the PHS plate, change in its plate motion direction at 3 Ma, and the geometry of its upper surface. Calculated heat flows associated solely with subduction of the PHS plate, passing through central and eastern Shikoku and the Kii Peninsula, were not consistent with observations. They tended to be lower on the seaward side of the corner of the mantle wedge and to have much longer spatial wavelengths on the continental side. To explain heat flow data in southwest Japan, frictional heating at the plate interface on the seaward side of the corner of the mantle wedge and temperature changes due to surface erosion and sedimentation on land associated with crustal deformation during the Quaternary must be incorporated into the model. The most suitable pore pressure ratio to explain the heat flow data is estimated to be 0.95. Temperatures on the upper surface of the PHS plate obtained in this study are lower at shallow depths and higher at greater depths than those obtained by Hyndman et al. (1995) , indicating that the seismogenic zone inferred from this study is narrower than that of their model. Microearthquakes within the subducting PHS plate occur at temperatures below 700–800 °C.

The depth of the post-spinel transformation is investigated for the Tonga slab, by using data from short period seismic networks at western United States and Japan for about 100 deep and intermediate-depth earthquakes within a small (∼200 km by 200 km) area near 20°S. Later phases in a time window ∼3 to 20 s after direct P waves are analyzed to search for S-to-P converted waves at the 660 km discontinuity, which represents the post-spinel transformation. We find that immediately beneath the foci of the deepest earthquakes the discontinuity is depressed down to the depths of 685 ± 5 km on average, and that it dips towards WNW by 10 ± 3 km within 70 km laterally. We constrain the thermal structure near the S to P conversion points based on a plausible assumption that the deepest earthquakes occur around the coldest core of the Tonga slab. The distribution of the hypocenters relocated in this study as well as previously published tomographic images of the same region suggest that the Tonga slab bends upward when approaching the 660 km discontinuity and transiently stagnates around the discontinuity. With these observations as the constraints, we numerically model the thermal structure of the Tonga slab, and estimate the temperature around the conversion points as 1200 ± 100 °C, which is 300 ± 100 K colder than the surrounding mantle. As the average depression of the discontinuity (down to 685 ± 5 km) corresponds to an pressure excess over the global average (660 km) by 1.0 ± 0.2 GPa, the assumption of equilibrium post-spinel transformation results in an estimate of the Clapeyron slope (C1) of - 3.3 - 2.7 + 1.3 MPa/K. We also obtain an independent estimate of the Clapeyron slope (C2) of −2.0 ± 1.0 MPa/K, based on the observation of the dip of the discontinuity and the computed temperature variation (by about 200 K). The discrepancy between C1 and C2 is marginally significant and can be diminished by considering that the slab materials at the conversion points are currently descending across the phase boundary fast enough and thus the depth of the post-spinel transformation is controlled by nucleation kinetics as well as by the temperature.