3-D Simulation of Steady Plate Subduction with Tectonic Erosion: Current Crustal Uplift and Free-Air Gravity Anomaly in Northeast Japan

Free-air gravity anomaly in plate subduction zones, characterized by island-arc high, trench low and outer-rise gentle high, reflects the cumulative effects of long-term crustal uplift and subsidence. In northeast Japan the island-arc high of observed free-air gravity anomaly takes its maximum about the eastern coastline. On the other hand, the current vertical crustal motion estimated from geological and geomorphological observations shows a gentle uplift in the land area and steep subsidence in the sea area with the neutral point near the eastern coastline. Such a discrepancy in spatial patterns between the free-air gravity anomaly and current vertical crustal motion can be ascribed to a change in the mode of crustal uplift and subsidence associated with the initiation of tectonic erosion at the North American-Pacific plate interface. We developed a realistic 3-D simulation model of steady plate subduction with tectonic erosion in northeast Japan on the basis of elastic/viscoelastic dislocation theory. Through numerical simulations with this model we found that simple steady plate subduction brings about the crustal uplift characterized by island-arc high with its maximum about the eastern coastline, while steady plate subduction with tectonic erosion, which is represented by the landward retreat of the plate interface, brings about gentle uplift in the land area and steep subsidence in the sea area with the neutral point near the eastern coastline. Therefore, if we suppose that tectonic erosion started 3–4 million years ago after the long duration of simple steady plate subduction, we can consistently explain both patterns of free-air gravity anomaly and current crustal uplift in northeast Japan.