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Main Authors: Ikari, Matt J, Ito, Yoshihiro, Ujiie, Kohtaro, Kopf, Achim J
Format: Dataset Open Access
Language:en
Published: PANGAEA 2015
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.858894
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author Ikari, Matt J
Ito, Yoshihiro
Ujiie, Kohtaro
Kopf, Achim J
author_facet Ikari, Matt J
Ito, Yoshihiro
Ujiie, Kohtaro
Kopf, Achim J
collection Datos científicos de ciencias marinas y ambientales
contents During the 2011 Tohoku-oki earthquake, extremely extensive coseismic slip ruptured shallow parts of the Japan Trench subduction zone and breached the sea floor^1, 2. This part of the subduction zone also hosts slow slip events (SSE)^3, 4. The fault thus seems to have a propensity for slip instability or quasi-instability that is unexpected on the shallow portions of important fault zones. Here we use laboratory experiments to slowly shear samples of rock recovered from the Tohoku-oki earthquake fault zone as part of the Japan Trench Fast Drilling Project. We find that infrequent perturbations in rock strength appear spontaneously as long-term SSE when the samples are sheared at a constant rate of about 8.5 cm yr^-1, equivalent to the plate-convergence rate. The shear strength of the rock drops by 3 to 6%, or 50 kPa to 120 kPa, over about 2 to 4 h. Slip during these events reaches peak velocities of up to 25 cm yr^-1, similar to SSE observed in several circum-Pacific subduction zones. Furthermore, the sheared samples exhibit the full spectrum of fault-slip behaviours, from fast unstable slip to slow steady creep, which can explain the wide range of slip styles observed in the Japan Trench. We suggest that the occurrence of SSE at shallow depths may help identify fault segments that are frictionally unstable and susceptible to large coseismic slip propagation.
format Dataset Open Access
id pangaea_https___doi_org_10_1594_PANGAEA_858894
institution PANGAEA
language en
publishDate 2015
publisher PANGAEA
record_format pangaea
spellingShingle Slip behavior in Tohoku fault zone samples at plate tectonic slip rates
Ikari, Matt J
Ito, Yoshihiro
Ujiie, Kohtaro
Kopf, Achim J
Integrated Ocean Drilling Program / International Ocean Discovery Program; IODP
During the 2011 Tohoku-oki earthquake, extremely extensive coseismic slip ruptured shallow parts of the Japan Trench subduction zone and breached the sea floor^1, 2. This part of the subduction zone also hosts slow slip events (SSE)^3, 4. The fault thus seems to have a propensity for slip instability or quasi-instability that is unexpected on the shallow portions of important fault zones. Here we use laboratory experiments to slowly shear samples of rock recovered from the Tohoku-oki earthquake fault zone as part of the Japan Trench Fast Drilling Project. We find that infrequent perturbations in rock strength appear spontaneously as long-term SSE when the samples are sheared at a constant rate of about 8.5 cm yr^-1, equivalent to the plate-convergence rate. The shear strength of the rock drops by 3 to 6%, or 50 kPa to 120 kPa, over about 2 to 4 h. Slip during these events reaches peak velocities of up to 25 cm yr^-1, similar to SSE observed in several circum-Pacific subduction zones. Furthermore, the sheared samples exhibit the full spectrum of fault-slip behaviours, from fast unstable slip to slow steady creep, which can explain the wide range of slip styles observed in the Japan Trench. We suggest that the occurrence of SSE at shallow depths may help identify fault segments that are frictionally unstable and susceptible to large coseismic slip propagation.
title Slip behavior in Tohoku fault zone samples at plate tectonic slip rates
topic Integrated Ocean Drilling Program / International Ocean Discovery Program; IODP
url https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.858894