Receiver Function Imaging of the Amphibious NE Japan Subduction Zone—Effects of Low‐Velocity Sediment Layer.

This study presents reflectivity images of the northeast (NE) Japan subduction zone continuous across the ocean and land. As nearly half of its forearc region is under the ocean, data from ocean bottom seismometers (OBSs) must be utilized to fully image the region by passive seismic analysis. The use of OBS data has been a challenge due to inherent characters of the ocean bottom observations: high noise level and effects of seafloor sediment. Now, decent imaging is possible in NE Japan overcoming the high level noise due to the accumulated data set of the OBSs. The low‐velocity of seafloor sediment significantly delays and amplifies S waves passing through them, and thus complicates teleseismic waveforms. We identify and correct these effects to produce coherent receiver function images throughout the amphibious subduction zone. Our images provide a potential for discussing new structural features and will help better understanding of the dynamics of the NE Japan subduction zone. Plain Language Summary: In northeast Japan, the Pacific plate is subducting beneath the Japanese arc, and delineating how the actual subduction is taking place at depths has been the target of many seismological studies. This study presents our effort of continuous imaging of subsurface interfaces across the ocean and land employing an amphibious data set. On the land side, there are dense seismic networks that have been used to reveal the seismic interfaces using converted phases of distant earthquakes. On the ocean side, the accumulation of data from temporary ocean bottom seismometers in the last decade and the recently installed ocean bottom cable network has made it possible to use a similar approach as on the land. However, the low‐velocity sediment beneath the seafloor causes systematic slower arrivals and larger amplitudes of the seismic phases of interest that result in highly disturbed images if we analyze them in the same way as the land. Here, we identify and correct the effects of the seafloor sediment to analyze the seismic interfaces across the ocean and land. As a result, we succeed in imaging the interfaces of the subducting oceanic crust throughout the region, as well as previously unidentified features under the ocean that may deserve future investigation. Key Points: The northeast Japan subduction zone is imaged using receiver functions (RFs) of an amphibious data setWe identify significant amplitude and time delay effects on RFs from seafloor sedimentCorrections of the sediment effects significantly improve images across an amphibious region [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]