Rupture processes of the 2021 and 2022 Fukushima-oki earthquakes: adjacent events on the complex fault system in the subducting slab

Abstract The 2021 M w 7.1 and 2022 M w 7.4 Fukushima-oki earthquakes ruptured adjacent regions in the subducting slab, which gave us a good opportunity to better understand the rupture process of an intraslab earthquake and the fault system in a subducting slab hosting such large earthquakes. We dev...

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Main Authors: Hiroaki Kobayashi, Tetsushi Watanabe, Kazuki Koketsu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SpringerOpen 2023-05-01
Series:Earth, Planets and Space
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s40623-023-01838-z
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author Hiroaki Kobayashi
Tetsushi Watanabe
Kazuki Koketsu
author_facet Hiroaki Kobayashi
Tetsushi Watanabe
Kazuki Koketsu
author_sort Hiroaki Kobayashi
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The 2021 M w 7.1 and 2022 M w 7.4 Fukushima-oki earthquakes ruptured adjacent regions in the subducting slab, which gave us a good opportunity to better understand the rupture process of an intraslab earthquake and the fault system in a subducting slab hosting such large earthquakes. We developed source models of the two earthquakes by constructing fault models based on the distributions of relocated aftershocks and performing joint source inversion using strong motion, teleseismic and geodetic data. The results showed that the 2021 earthquake was initiated by the west-northwest dipping fault and that it then ruptured the east-southeast dipping fault. The rupture propagated to the southwest and up-dip directions. For the 2022 earthquake, the rupture primarily propagated to the north-northeast and up-dip directions on another east-southeast dipping fault, but a delayed rupture occurred around the hypocenter approximately 12 s after the rupture initiation. This was probably due to the complex fault system around the hypocenter. Our source models accurately reproduced observed data for both earthquakes, indicating that the fault geometry was appropriate. We found that the source faults of these earthquakes had similarities to faults in the outer-rise region, which suggests that the 2021 and 2022 earthquakes occurred on faults that originally formed in the outer-rise region and reactivated in the subducting slab. Such a fault system in the subducting slab was probably one of the factors that controlled the rupture processes of the two earthquakes. Graphical Abstract
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spelling doaj.art-705f4b96bad046d1aa06e8b9a27ff8852023-05-21T11:10:49ZengSpringerOpenEarth, Planets and Space1880-59812023-05-0175111110.1186/s40623-023-01838-zRupture processes of the 2021 and 2022 Fukushima-oki earthquakes: adjacent events on the complex fault system in the subducting slabHiroaki Kobayashi0Tetsushi Watanabe1Kazuki Koketsu2Kobori Research Complex Inc.Kobori Research Complex Inc.Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio UniversityAbstract The 2021 M w 7.1 and 2022 M w 7.4 Fukushima-oki earthquakes ruptured adjacent regions in the subducting slab, which gave us a good opportunity to better understand the rupture process of an intraslab earthquake and the fault system in a subducting slab hosting such large earthquakes. We developed source models of the two earthquakes by constructing fault models based on the distributions of relocated aftershocks and performing joint source inversion using strong motion, teleseismic and geodetic data. The results showed that the 2021 earthquake was initiated by the west-northwest dipping fault and that it then ruptured the east-southeast dipping fault. The rupture propagated to the southwest and up-dip directions. For the 2022 earthquake, the rupture primarily propagated to the north-northeast and up-dip directions on another east-southeast dipping fault, but a delayed rupture occurred around the hypocenter approximately 12 s after the rupture initiation. This was probably due to the complex fault system around the hypocenter. Our source models accurately reproduced observed data for both earthquakes, indicating that the fault geometry was appropriate. We found that the source faults of these earthquakes had similarities to faults in the outer-rise region, which suggests that the 2021 and 2022 earthquakes occurred on faults that originally formed in the outer-rise region and reactivated in the subducting slab. Such a fault system in the subducting slab was probably one of the factors that controlled the rupture processes of the two earthquakes. Graphical Abstracthttps://doi.org/10.1186/s40623-023-01838-zRupture processJoint source inversionFukushima-oki earthquakesIntraslabFault system
spellingShingle Hiroaki Kobayashi
Tetsushi Watanabe
Kazuki Koketsu
Rupture processes of the 2021 and 2022 Fukushima-oki earthquakes: adjacent events on the complex fault system in the subducting slab
Earth, Planets and Space
Rupture process
Joint source inversion
Fukushima-oki earthquakes
Intraslab
Fault system
title Rupture processes of the 2021 and 2022 Fukushima-oki earthquakes: adjacent events on the complex fault system in the subducting slab
title_full Rupture processes of the 2021 and 2022 Fukushima-oki earthquakes: adjacent events on the complex fault system in the subducting slab
title_fullStr Rupture processes of the 2021 and 2022 Fukushima-oki earthquakes: adjacent events on the complex fault system in the subducting slab
title_full_unstemmed Rupture processes of the 2021 and 2022 Fukushima-oki earthquakes: adjacent events on the complex fault system in the subducting slab
title_short Rupture processes of the 2021 and 2022 Fukushima-oki earthquakes: adjacent events on the complex fault system in the subducting slab
title_sort rupture processes of the 2021 and 2022 fukushima oki earthquakes adjacent events on the complex fault system in the subducting slab
topic Rupture process
Joint source inversion
Fukushima-oki earthquakes
Intraslab
Fault system
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s40623-023-01838-z
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