Temporal variation of crustal deformation during the days preceding a thrust-type great earthquake — The 1944 Tonankai earthquake of magnitude 8.1, Japan

The temporal variation in precursory ground tilt prior to the 1944 Tonankai (Japan) earthquake, which is a great thrust-type earthquake along the Nankai Trough, is discussed using the analysis of data from repeated surveys along short-distance leveling routes.Sato (1970) pointed out that an anomalous tilt occurred one day before the earthquake at Kakegawa near the northern end of the focal region of the earthquake. From the analysis of additional leveling data, Sato's result is re-examined and the temporal change in the ground tilt is deduced for the period of about ten days beginning six days before the earthquake. A remarkable precursory tilt started two or three days before the earthquake. The direction of the precursory tilt was up towards the south (uplift on the southern Nankai Trough side), but the coseismic tilt was up towards the southeast, perpendicular to the strike of the main thrust fault of the Tonankai earthquake. The postseismic tilt was probably opposite of the coseismic tilt. The preseismic tilt is attributed to precursory slip on part of the main fault. If similar precursory deformation occurs before a future earthquake expected to occur in the adjacent Tokai region, the deformation may help predict the time of the Tokai earthquake.     

The role of thermal viscous remanent magnetisation (TVRM) in magnetic changes associated with volcanic eruptions: Insights from the 2000 eruption of Mt Usu,Japan

Volcanic eruptions can produce large magnetic field changes by thermomagnetic effects, especially when magma cools from high temperatures and acquires a permanent magnetisation from the Earth's magnetic field. After the 2000 eruption of Mt Usu, Japan, significant magnetic field changes were observed not only in the vicinity of the magmatic intrusion but also in an area some distance away that was unlikely to be at a temperature near the Curie Point.     

Optimum delay interval design in delay blasting

The major concern of this research is the reduction of blast vibrations at certain points of foremost importance. A procedure for optimum delay interval design, considering detonation time errors of the electric detonators, was proposed. Using the relationship between the peak particle velocity (PPV) and the delay at certain points of interest which was calculated by means of a computer program by simulating the superposition of the vibration waves emitted from each borehole, one can usually select the optimal delay interval in order to minimize the PPV. But due to the variations in the actual delay caused by the detonation time errors, the expected PPV usually not only depends on the nominal delay but also on the sensitivity of the PPV. Therefore, the selection of the optimum time interval for a delay blast should be based on both the optimum as well as several sub-optimal time intervals as candidates. In addition, the detonation time errors should be taken into consideration. Also, a new design concept, called 'combined delay blasting', which uses electronic detonators, is proposed to further reduce the PPV at the points of interest. Estimated vibration time histories based on this concept and their PPVs indicated considerably favorable results.     

A modified normalized input-output minimization （Mod-NIOM） method for seismic wave propagation modeling

A new method for wave propagation modeling is introduced in this paper. By using the constraint optimization (Lagrange multiplier) method, the sum of weighted squared Fourier amplitudes is minimized when subjected to a constraint. The sum of the maximum amplitudes obtained from all output models is normalized to unity and is taken as a constraint. In this method, all the actual time histories are considered as outputs and dealt with equally. Independently of the combinations of time histories (or the first ...