Anomalously large seismic amplifications in the seafloor area off the Kii peninsula

Seismic wave amplifications were investigated using strong-motion data obtained from the ground’s surface (K-net) on the Kii peninsula (southwestern Japan) and from the network of twenty seismic stations on the seafloor (DONET) located off the peninsula near the Nankai trough. Observed seismograms show that seismic signals at DONET stations are significantly larger than those at K-net stations, independent of epicentral distances. In order to investigate the cause of such amplifications, seismic wavefields for local events were simulated using the finite-difference method, in which a realistic 3D velocity structure in and around the peninsula was incorporated. Our simulation results demonstrate that seismic waves are significantly amplified at DONET stations in relation to the presence of underlying low-velocity sediment layers with a total thickness of up to 10 km. Our simulations also show considerable variations in the degree of amplification among DONET stations, which is attributed to differences in the thickness of the sediment layers. The degree of amplification is relatively low at stations above thin sediment layers near the trough axis, but seismic signals are much more amplified at stations closer to the Kii peninsula, where sediment layers are thicker than those at the trough axis. Simulation results are consistent with observations. This study, based on seafloor observations and simulations, indicates that because seismic signals are amplified due to the ocean-specific structures, the magnitude of earthquakes would be overestimated if procedures applied to data observed at land stations are used without corrections.     

Crustal anatexis and formation of two types of granitic magmas in the Kontum massif, central Vietnam: Implications for magma processes in collision zones

Asia grew in the Late Permian by the collision of a number of micro-continents. Syn- to post-collisional magmatism occurred along the continental collision zones . In this study, we report two types of granitic rocks, garnet granite (Grt granite) and orthopyroxene granite (Opx granite), from the Kontum massif, central Vietnam, which is situated on the continental collision zone between the South China and Indochina cratons. These granitic rocks were formed at ca. 250 Ma when high-temperature (HT) and ultrahigh-temperature (UHT) metamorphism took place in the same zone. Based on the petrological and geochemical features compared with previously reported experimental results, garnet-bearing granite is derived from pelitic gneisses by partial melting, whereas orthopyroxene-bearing granite is produced by the partial melting of garnet-bearing mafic granulites. We inferred that a significantly high-geothermal gradient is required to produce Vietnamese granitic magmatism and related HT to UHT metamorphism. This geotherm may be attributed to upwelling mantle plume beneath the Kontum massif during the Late Permian.