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Paradoxical Vertical Crustal Movement Along the Pacific Coast of Northeast Japan

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Book cover International Symposium on Geodesy for Earthquake and Natural Hazards (GENAH)

Part of the book series: International Association of Geodesy Symposia ((IAG SYMPOSIA,volume 145))

Abstract

Rapid subsidence had been observed along the Pacific coast of northeast Japan and the 2011 M w 9.0 Tohoku-oki earthquake caused additional subsidence over 1 m. On the other hand, geomorphological evidence shows the same area is slightly uplifting in a long-term. In order to interpret this paradoxical vertical movement, we construct a simple model of earthquake deformation cycle. Viscous relaxation in the asthenosphere can significantly affect crustal deformation pattern over an earthquake cycle. When earthquake recurrence interval is longer than the asthenospheric relaxation time, temporal variation in the interseismic deformation pattern becomes significant. Spatially heterogeneous behavior in earthquake recurrence may be responsible for the enigmatic vertical movement in northeast Japan.

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Acknowledgements

Critical comments from three anonymous reviewers were helpful in improving the manuscript. This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 22540437 and 25282111.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Disaster Mitigation Research Center, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Japan

    Takeshi Sagiya

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  1. Takeshi Sagiya
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Correspondence to Takeshi Sagiya .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Kyoto University, Disaster Prevention Research Institute Kyoto University, Uji, Kyoto, Japan

    Manabu Hashimoto

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Sagiya, T. (2015). Paradoxical Vertical Crustal Movement Along the Pacific Coast of Northeast Japan. In: Hashimoto, M. (eds) International Symposium on Geodesy for Earthquake and Natural Hazards (GENAH). International Association of Geodesy Symposia, vol 145. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/1345_2015_189

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