Use of tsunami waveforms for earthquake source study

Tsunami waveforms recorded on tide gauges, like seismic waves recorded on seismograms, can be used to study earthquake source processes. The tsunami propagation can be accurately evaluated, since bathymetry is much better known than seismic velocity structure in the Earth. Using waveform inversion techniques, we can estimate the spatial distribution of coseismic slip on the fault plane from tsunami waveforms. This method has been applied to several earthquakes around Japan. Two recent earthquakes, the 1968 Tokachi-oki and 1983 Japan Sea earthquakes, are examined for calibration purposes. Both events show nonuniform slip distributions very similar to those obtained from seismic wave analyses. The use of tsunami waveforms is more useful for the study of unusual or old earthquakes. The 1984 Torishima earthquake caused unusually large tsunamis for its earthquake size. Waveform modeling of this event shows that part of the abnormal size of this tsunami is due to the propagation effect along the shallow ridge system. For old earthquakes, many tide gauge records exist with quality comparable to modern records, while there are only a few good quality seismic records. The 1944 Tonankai and 1946 Nankaido earthquakes are examined as examples of old events, and slip distributions are obtained. Such estimates are possible only using tsunami records. Since tide-gauge records are available as far back as the 1850s, use of them will provide unique and important information on long-term global seismicity.     

Source characteristics of the 1992 Nicaragua tsunami earthquake inferred from teleseismic body waves

We analyzed the broadband body waves of the 1992 Nicaragua earthquake to determine the nature of rupture. The rupture propagation was represented by the distribution of point sources with moment-rate functions at 9 grid points with uniform spacing of 20 km along the fault strike. The moment-rate functions were then parameterized, and the parameters were determined with the least squares method with some constraints. The centroid times of the individual moment-rate functions indicate slow and smooth rupture propagation at a velocity of 1.5 km/s toward NW and 1.0 km/s toward SE. Including a small initial break which precedes the main rupture by about 10 s, we obtained a total source duration of 110 s. The total seismic moment isM _o =3.4×10²⁰ Nm, which is consistent with the value determined from long-period surface waves,M _o =3.7×10²⁰ Nm. The average rise time of dislocation is determined to be 10 s. The major moment release occurred along a fault length of 160 km. With the assumption of a fault widthW=50 km, we obtained the dislocationD=1.3 m. From andD the dislocation velocity isD=D/0.1 m/s, significantly smaller than the typical value for ordinary earthquakes. The stress drop =1.1 MPa is also less than the typical value for subduction zone earthquakes by a factor of 2–3. On the other hand, the apparent stress defined by 2E _s /M _o , where andE _s are respectively the rigidity and the seismic wave energy, is 0.037 MPa, more than an order of magnitude smaller than . The Nicaragua tsunami earthquake is characterized by the following three properties: 1) slow rupture propagation; 2) smooth rupture; 3) slow dislocation motion.     

Effects of fixation and storage on flow cytometric analysis of marine bacteria

Flow cytometry (FCM) is now becoming a routine tool for the enumeration and optical characterization of bacteria in marine environments. We investigated the effects of sample fixation and storage upon flow cytometric determination of marine bacteria. Fixed and unfixed seawater samples were analyzed by FCM immediately aboard ship and/or later in the laboratory, and the appearances of the fluorescence signals and bacterial counts of these samples were compared. Fixation and storage led to the formation of multiple peaks in fluorescence histograms; this was also seen in 22 out of 36 samples frozen in liquid nitrogen. Fixation did not, but storage did induce a decrease of bacterial counts: a rapid decrease during the first 3 days followed by a slower decline. The decline of cell numbers in stored samples was expressed by a regression model. Our studies indicate that precaution is necessary when interpreting the data from fixed and/or stored marine bacterial samples analyzed by FCM. The possibility that the procedure of fixation and storage leads to the appearance of high DNA and low DNA bacterial groups should be considered.     

Seismological evidence for a lithospheric normal faulting — the Sanriku earthquake of 1933

The focal process of the Sanriku earthquake of March 2, 1933, is discussed in relation to the bending mechanism of the lithosphere. On the basis of the P times obtained at more than 200 stations, it is confirmed that the hypocenter of this earthquake is within the lithosphere beneath the Japan trench. The P wave fault plane solution, the amplitude of long-period (100 s) Love and Rayleigh waves and two near-field observations suggest, almost definitely, that the Sanriku earthquake represents a predominantly normal faulting on a plane dipping 45° towards N 90° W. A fault size of 185 × 100 km², in agreement with the size of the aftershock area, is required to yield a slip dislocation of 3.3 m, a value consistent with the tsunami data. This result suggests that the fracture took place over the entire thickness of the lithosphere, thereby precluding the possibility that the Sanriku earthquake merely represents a surface tensile crack due to the bending of the lithosphere. This large scale lithospheric faulting is presumably due to a gravitational pull exerted by the cold sinking lithosphere. The fracture probably took place on an old fault plane which had once fractured and healed up. The existence of this fracture zone which decouples, to some extent, the oceanic lithosphere from the sinking lithosphere accounts for the sharp bend of the lithosphere beneath oceanic trenches and also the abrupt disappearance of seismic activity across oceanic trenches. The sharp bend of the lithosphere is therefore a result, not the cause, of great earthquakes beneath oceanic trenches.     

Magnitudes of great shallow earthquakes from 1953 to 1977

The surface-wavemagnitudes M_s are determined for 30 great shallow earthquakes that occurred during the period from 1953 to 1977. The determination is based on the amplitude and period data from all available station bulletins, and the same procedure as that employed in Gutenberg and Richter's “Seismicity of the Earth” is used. During this period, the Chilean earthquake of 1960 has the largest M_s, 8.5. The surface-wave magnitudes listed in “Earthquake Data Reports” are found to be higher than M_s on the average. By using the same method as that used by Gutenberg, the broad-band body-wave magnitudes m_B are determined for great shallow shocks for the period from 1953 to 1974. m_B is based on the amplitudes of P, PP and S waves which are measured on broadband instruments at periods of about 4–20 s. The 1-s body-wave magnitudes listed in “Bulletin of International Seismological Center” and “Earthquake Data Reports” are found to be much smaller than m_B on the average. Through the examination of Gutenberg and Richter's original worksheets, the relation between m_B and M_sis revised to m_B = 0.65 M_s+ 2.5 which well satisfies the mg and M_sdata for M_sbetween 5.2 and     

The rupture process and asperity distribution of three great earthquakes from long-period diffracted P-waves

Maximum earthquake size varies considerably amongst the subduction zones. This has been interpreted as a variation in the seismic coupling, which is presumably related to the mechanical conditions of the fault zone. The rupture process of a great earthquake indicates the distribution of strong (asperities) and weak regions of the fault. The rupture process of three great earthquakes (1963 Kurile Islands, M_W = 8.5; 1965 Rat Islands, M_W = 8.7; 1964 Alaska, M_W = 9.2) are studied by using WWSSN stations in the core shadow zone. Diffraction around the core attenuates the P-wave amplitudes such that on-scale long-period P-waves are recorded. There are striking differences between the seismograms of the great earthquakes; the Alaskan earthquake has the largest amplitude and a very long-period nature, while the Kurile Islands earthquake appears to be a sequence of magnitude 7.5 events.The source time functions are deconvolved from the observed records. The Kurile Islands rupture process is characterized by the breaking of asperities with a length scale of 40–60 km, and for the Alaskan earthquake the dominant length scale in the epicentral region is 140–200 km. The variation of length scale and M_W suggests that larger asperities cause larger earthquakes. The source time function of the 1979 Colombia earthquake (M_W = 8.3) is also deconvolved. This earthquake is characterized by a single asperity of length scale 100–120 km, which is consistent with the above pattern, as the Colombia subduction zone was previously ruptured by a great (M_W = 8.8) earthquake in 1906.The main result is that maximum earthquake size is related to the asperity distribution on the fault. The subduction zones with the largest earthquakes have very large asperities (e.g. the Alaskan earthquake), while the zones with the smaller great earthquakes (e.g. Kurile Islands) have smaller scattered asperities.     

Earthquake doublets in the Solomon Islands

Large, shallow, thrust earthquakes in the Solomon Islands region tend to occur in closely related pairs. Two recent sequences are July 14, 1971 (M_S = 7.9) and July 26, 1971 M(_S = 7.9) and 14^h37^m, July 20, 1975 (M_S = 7.9) and 19^h54^m, July 20, 1975 (M_S = 7.7). The mechanism of these seismic doublets has important bearing on the triggering mechanism of earthquakes in subduction zones. Detailed analysis of the seismic body waves and surface waves were performed on the 1971, 1974, and 1975 doublets, providing a better understanding of: (1) the mechanics of seismic triggering, (2) the state of stress on the fault plane, and (3) the nature of subduction between the Pacific and Indian plates. The results indicate that although the geometry of the subduction zone in the Solomon Islands is complicated by the presence of several sub-plates, the slip direction of the Indian plate with respect to the Pacific plate is relatively uniform over the entire region. The large seismic moments of the 1971 sequence (1.2 · 10²⁸ and 1.8 · 10²⁸ dyne cm) indicate that these events directly represent the underthrusting of the Indian and Solomon plates beneath the Pacific plate. The body waves from these doublets, recorded on the WWSSN long-period seismograms, are remarkably impulsive and simple compared with those from events of comparable seismic moment in other subduction zones. In addition, the source dimensions of the body waves are 30–70 km in length, substantially smaller than the overall rupture surfaces radiating the surface waves which are 100–300 km in length. These facts suggest the existence of relatively large, isolated high-stress zones on the fault plane. This type of stress distribution is distinct from other regions which have more heterogeneous stress distribution on the fault plane, and this is proposed as the principal characteristic of this region responsible for the occurrence of the doublets and for the apparent efficiency of triggering in the Solomon trench. Prior to the 1971 sequence, similar sequences have occurred in the same area in 1919–1920 and 1945–1946. From the amount of slip (1.3 m) determined for the 1971 sequence and the apparent recurrence interval of 25 years, a seismic slip rate of 5 cm yr^?1 is determined. This value is a significant portion of the convergence rate between the Indian and Pacific plates indicating that the plate motion here is taken up largely by seismic slip.     

Focal process of the great Chilean earthquake May 22, 1960

Long-period strain seismogram recorded at Pasadena is used to determine the focal process of the 1960 Chilean earthquake. Synthetic seismograms computed for various fault models are matched with the observed strain seismogram to determine the fault parameters. A low-angle (～ 10°) thrust model with rupture length of 800 km and rupture velocity of 3.5 km/sec is consistent with the observed Rayleigh/Love wave ratio and the radiation asymmetry. A seismic moment of 2.7 · 10³⁰ dyn · cm is obtained for the main shock. This value, together with the estimated fault area of 1.6 · 10⁵ km², gives an average dislocation of 24 m. The strain seismogram clearly shows unusually long-period (300–600 sec) wave arriving at the P time of a large foreshock which occurred about 15 minutes before the main shock, suggesting a large slow deformation in the epicentral area prior to the major failure. A simple dislocation model shows that a dislocation of 30 m, having a time constant of 300–600 sec, over a fault plane of 800 × 200 km² is required to explain this precursory displacement. The entire focal process may be envisaged in terms of a large-scale deformation which started rather gradually and eventually triggered the foreshocks and the “main” shock. This mechanism may explain the large premonitory deformations documented, but not recorded instrumentally, for several Japanese earthquakes. The moments of the main shock and the precursor add to 6 · 10³⁰ dyn · cm which is large enough to affect the earth's polar motion.     

Petrochemistry of Late Miocene to Quaternary Igneous Rocks and Metallogenesis in Southwest Hokkaido, Japan

Abstract: Southwest Hokkaido is largely covered by Late Miocene to Quaternary igneous rocks, and has a large number of gold veins and base-metal veins of the same age. Investigation of the silica-normalized concentration of elements has revealed regional petrochemical zoning; large ion lithophile elements (LILE) and K₂O/(Na₂O+K₂O) of the rocks increase toward Japan Sea, whereas total FeO, CaO, and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr decrease. Mapped concentration isoplethes of these elements are not ideally parallel to the volcanic front, but protrude to the west at Funka Bay, and to the northwest at Matsumae Peninsula. Isoplethes of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr show similar patterns and two more northwestward protrusions in the northeast (Jozankei block) of southwest Hokkaido. Contrary to the general petrochemical trend, both high– and low-LILE volcanic rocks occur in the Jozankei block. The ore deposits are distributed in four metallogenic zones; manganese–base–metal zone on the Japan Sea side, pyrite-limonite zone mainly along the volcanic front, gold zone in the middle, and two units of gold–base–metal zone. The northern unit of this zone is in the Jozankei block, and seems a part of the gold zone overlapped by the manganese–base–metal zone. Thus, as a rule, pyrite–limonite, gold, and base-metal deposits accompany low–, intermediate–, and high-LILE igneous rocks, respectively. Individual deposits and volcanic rocks make chains oblique to the zones and the volcanic front. The majority of the ore deposits are distributed along ridges of Bouguer anomalies overlapped by the volcanic chains, which apparently control the patterns of the petrochemical isoplethes. This is typical for two volcanic chains to the north and south of Funka Bay, where the petrochemical isoplethes protrude to the west. This indicates that both the igneous activity and the mineralization have been under the control of tectonic fractures at the roots of the volcanic chains. The geological, petrochemical and metallogenic data support the idea that the chemical characteristics of the deposits are correlated mainly with the chemistry of the associated magmas, and partly with that of the host rocks.