Specific features of the appearance of seismotectonic deformations during the genesis of March 11, 2011, Tohoku earthquake source

The results of investigating the preparation zone of the catastrophic earthquake of March 11, 2011, near the eastern coast of Honshu Island are presented. A retrospective analysis of the focal mechanisms of deep earthquakes in the western part of the Pacific Ocean made it possible to reveal their influence on the zone of the Tohoku earthquake source. The preparation of this earthquake is also investigated within an analysis of the seismotectonic deformation processes at the regional level, which includes an estimation of the temporal trends of some key parameters, as well as the detection of their variations and the spatial confinement of anomalies to the source zone.