Abstract
We construct receiver function (RF) image using onshore and offshore observatories located around the Kii Peninsula, southwest Japan, to investigate fluid distribution along the subducting Philippine Sea Plate. We calculate RFs at offshore sites using the inverse water-layer filter method. Resultant RF amplitudes suggest the existence of low-velocity zones directly beneath the plate interface of both onshore and offshore regions. We interpreted this as evidence of hydrous oceanic crust, extending from 5–35 km depth to the plate interface. We attribute the reduction of RF amplitudes beneath the Kii Peninsula to the dehydration of the oceanic crust, which increases the seismic velocity of the oceanic crust. Furthermore, we suggest that the densification caused by the dehydration makes the plate interface permeable. This permeable plate interface may indicate the location of non-volcanic tremors, somewhat contrasting with the situation of long-term slow slip events, which are considered to occur along the impermeable plate interface.
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Akuhara, T. (2018). Receiver Function Image of the Subducting Philippine Sea Plate. In: Fluid Distribution Along the Nankai-Trough Megathrust Fault off the Kii Peninsula. Springer Theses. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8174-3_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8174-3_4
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