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Along the Nankai Trough of southwest Japan, large‐magnitude interplate earthquakes (M > 8) have occurred repeatedly, with recurrence intervals of approximately 100 years. It is essential to estimate more precisely the spatial distribution of interplate coupling; that is, along‐strike and along‐dip heterogeneity of the coupling ratio defined as the slip deficit rate divided by the plate convergence rate, for understanding the mechanisms and/or assessing the potential of future mega interplate earthquakes in this region. Recently, the seafloor Global Navigation Satellite System‐Acoustic (GNSS/A) combination technique observation network has been extended, and we can now obtain crustal displacement fields for both onshore and offshore regions. In this study, we estimate interplate coupling distribution along the Nankai Trough using both seafloor GNSS/A and onshore GNSS data with the block motion model, minimizing the spatial variations of modeling uncertainties of coupling estimates. Seafloor GNSS/A data depict very strong coupling near the trough axis off of Tokai, as well as trough‐parallel heterogeneity in interplate coupling at the shallow plate interface. Using the block motion model confirmed that observed crustal deformation above the deep plate interface in SW Japan is dominated by rigid block motion rather than elastic response to slip deficit on the deep plate interface of the subducting Philippine Sea plate. The minimization of spatial variations for the modeling uncertainties of coupling estimates helps us to estimate the coupling distribution with nearly homogeneous uncertainties between offshore and onshore regions, which is useful for evaluation of interplate earthquakes and/or tsunamis hazards. Key Points: Interplate coupling along the Nankai Trough was estimated using the block motion model based on seafloor and onshore geodetic observationsSpatial variations of modeling uncertainties of coupling estimates were minimized with a new minimization algorithmVery strong coupling near the trough axis off of Tokai suggests tsunamigenesis potential at the shallowest part of plate interface [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aftershock distribution of the 1933 Sanriku-oki outer trench earthquake is estimated by using modern relocation methods and a newly developed velocity structure to examine the spatial extent of the source-fault and the possibility of a triggered interplate seismicity. In this study, we first examined the regional data quality of the 1933 earthquake based on smokedpaper records and then relocated the earthquakes by using the 3-D velocity structure and double-difference method. The improvements of hypocentre locations using these methods were confirmed by the examination of recent earthquakes that are accurately located based on ocean bottom seismometer data. The results show that the 1933 aftershocks occurred under both the outer- and inner-trench-slope regions. In the outer-trench-slope region, aftershocks are distributed in aĀ280-km-long area and their depths are shallower than 50 km. Although we could not constrain the fault geometry from the hypocentre distribution, the depth distribution suggests the whole lithosphere is probably not under deviatoric tension at the time of the 1933 earthquake. The occurrence of aftershocks under the inner trench slope was also confirmed by an investigation of waveform frequency difference between outer and inner trench earthquakes as recorded at Mizusawa. The earthquakes under the inner trench slope were shallow (depth ≦30 km) and the waveforms show a low-frequency character similar to the waveforms of recent, precisely located earthquakes in the same area. They are also located where recent activity of interplate thrust earthquakes is high. These suggest that the 1933 outer-trenchslope main shock triggered interplate earthquakes, which is an unusual case in the order of occurrence in contrast with the more common pairing of a large initial interplate shock with subsequent outer-slope earthquakes. The off-trench earthquakes are distributed about 80 km width in the trench perpendicular direction. This wide width cannot be explained from a single high-angle fault confined at a shallow depth (depth ≦50 km). The upward motion of the 1933 tsunami waveform records observed at Sanriku coast also cannot be explained from a single high-angle west-dipping normal fault. If we consider additional fault, involvement of highangle, east-dipping normal faults can better explain the tsunami first motion and triggering of the aftershock in a wide area under the outer trench slope. Therefore multiple off-trench normal faults may have activated during the 1933 earthquake. We also relocated recent (2001- 2012) seismicity by the same method. The results show that the present seismicity in the outer-trench-slope region can be divided into several groups along the trench. Comparison of the 1933 rupture dimensions based on our aftershock relocations with the morphologies of fault scarps in the outer trench slope suggest that the rupture was limited to the region where fault scarps are largely trench parallel and cross cut the seafloor spreading fabric. These findings imply that bending geometry and structural segmentation of the incoming plate largely controls the spatial extent of the 1933 seismogenic faulting. In this shallow rupture model for this largest outer trench earthquake, triggered seismicity in the forearc and structural control of faulting represent an important deformation styles for off-trench and shallow megathrust zones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyzed temporal changes in site response associated with the strong ground motion of the 2004 Mw 6.6 Mid-Niigata earthquake sequence in Japan. The seismic data were recorded at a site with accelerometers at the surface and a 100-m-deep borehole. We computed the empirical surface-to-borehole spectral ratios and used them to track temporal changes in the top 100 m of the crust. We observed that the peak spectral ratio decreases by 40%-60% and the peak frequency drops by 30%-70% immediately after large earthquakes. The coseismic changes are followed by apparent recoveries, with the time scale ranging from several tens to more than 100 sec. The coseismic peak frequency drop, peak spectral ratio drop, and the postseismic recovery time roughly scale with the input ground motions when the peak ground velocity is larger than ~5 cm/sec (or the peak ground acceleration is larger than ~100 Gal). Our results suggest that at a given site the input ground motion plays an important role in controlling both the coseismic change and the postseismic recovery in site response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) currently exists at intermediate water depths on the northern Japanese margin in the northwestern Pacific. The OMZ results largely from a combination of high surface–water productivity and poor ventilation of intermediate waters. We investigated the late Quaternary history (last 27 kyr) of the intensity of this OMZ using changes in benthic foraminiferal carbon isotopes and assemblages in a sediment core taken on the continental slope off Shimokita Peninsula, northern Japan, at a water depth of 975 m. The core was located well within the region of the present-day OMZ and high surface–water productivity. The benthic foraminiferal δ13C values, which indicate millennial-scale fluctuations of nutrient contents at the sediment–water interface, were 0.48‰ lower during the last glacial maximum (LGM) than during the late Holocene. These results do not indicate the formation of glacial intermediate waters of subarctic Pacific origin, but rather the large contribution of high-nutrient water masses such as the Antarctic Intermediate Water, implying that the regional circulation pattern during the LGM was similar to that of modern times. Benthic foraminiferal assemblages underwent major changes in response to changes in dissolved oxygen concentrations in ocean floor sediments. The lowest oxygen and highest nutrient conditions, marked by dysoxic taxa and negative values of benthic foraminiferal δ13C, occurred during the Bølling/Allerød (B/A) and Pre-Boreal warming events. Dysoxic conditions in this region during these intervals were possibly caused by high surface–water productivity at times of reduced intermediate–water ventilation in the northwestern Pacific. The benthic assemblages show dysoxic events on approx. 100- to 200-year cycles during the B/A, reflecting centennial-scale productivity changes related to freshwater cycles and surface–water circulation in the North Pacific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Linear and nonlinear responses of ten well-type tide gauge stations on the Japan Sea coast of central Japan were estimated by in situ measurements. We poured water into the well or drained water from the well by using a pump to make an artificial water level difference between the outer sea and the well, then measured the recovery of water level in the well. At three tide gauge stations, Awashima, Iwafune, and Himekawa, the sea-level change of the outer sea is transmitted to the tide well instantaneously. However, at seven tide gauge stations, Nezugaseki, Ryotsu, Ogi, Teradomari, Banjin, Kujiranami, and Naoetsu, the sea-level change of the outer sea is not always transmitted to the tide well instantaneously. At these stations, the recorded tsunami waveforms are not assured to follow the actual tsunami waveforms. Tsunami waveforms from the Niigataken Chuetsu-oki Earthquake in 2007 recorded at these stations were corrected by using the measured tide gauge responses. The corrected amplitudes of the first and second waves were larger than the uncorrected ones, and the corrected peaks are a few minutes earlier than the uncorrected ones at Banjin, Kujiranami, and Ogi. At Banjin, the correction was significant; the corrected amplitudes of the first and second upward motion are +103 cm and +114 cm, respectively, while the uncorrected amplitudes were +96 cm and +88 cm. At other tide gauge stations, the differences between the uncorrected and corrected tsunami waveforms were insignificant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses four reports within the issue regarding geophysics research, including one by Sato and colleagues, Simons and colleagues, Ide and colleagues, and Vigny and colleagues. The teams illustrate the use of a network of global positioning system (GPS) detectors to show how the Earth's surface deformed before and after the Tohoku-Oki magnitude 9 (M9) earthquake in Japan on March 11, 2011 and the M9 earthquake in central Chile (Maule) on February 27, 2010, in which thousands of lives were saved as a result of early warning systems for tsunamis.

The article discusses a report by seismologist Harmony Colella of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and colleagues attending the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union from December 3-7, 2012 in San Francisco, California, on a fault behavior model. Colella and colleagues used computer simulations to show how slow slip events transfer stress in a fault, noting that the model behaved the way the fault off Japan did prior to the March 2011 earthquake.

The article discusses three separate online reports published in "Science" regarding seismology research analyzing the March 11, 2011 magnitude-9.0 earthquake in Sendai, Japan. Topics include results from the reports which gauged where and by how much the fault slipped, the pattern of the slip, and concern by seismologists about the southern portion of the fault, which broke in the Tohoku earthquake.