Initial Tectonic Deformation of Hemipelagic Sediment at the Leading Edge of the Japan Convergent Margin

Diatomaceous mudstones at depth under the deep sea terrace and the trench inner slope off Japan have been variably affected by tectonic stress. Veins, healed fractures, and microfaults occur at all sites except the shallow Site 435 on the upper trench inner slope and Site 436 on the Pacific Plate. Veins, fractures, and faults occur in cores from below 620 meters (lower to middle Miocene) in the landward sites (438 and 439) on the deep sea terrace, and are probably related to normal faulting seen in seismic records. The depth to "consolidated" sediment and to the first occurrence of veins and healed fractures shallows progressively toward the trench. The intensity of deformation also appears to increase seaward. However, no sediments younger than upper Pliocene are deformed. Open fractures may exist in situ at Sites 434 and 441 at levels between about 150 and 500 meters sub-bottom. The Japan Transect sediments—in contrast to deposits in the zone of initial deformation at other convergent margins though highly deformed, are not highly overconsolidated. However, sediment at depth in the trench inner slope sites is overconsolidated relative to that at the same depth in the landward reference site. None of the deformed Japan margin sediments recovered at Legs 56 and 57 sites originated by accretion of oceanic plate material—also in contrast to sediments at some of the margins previously studied. We suggest that tectonic stress related to convergence has been communicated to the slope sediments on the trench inner slope, either continuously or periodically, causing rapid tectonic dewatering and inducing fracturing and faulting. If episodic, the latest of these deformational periods may have occurred during the late Pliocene. The faults and fractures are either rehealed by continued overburden pressure (sediment loading) or may remain open at shallower levels. Fracturing and dewatering of semiconsolidated sediment beneath an unconsolidated but impermeable mud veneer may cause overpressured zones at depths of 200 to 500 meters. These overpressured zones possibly locally reduce shear strength and cause downslope mass movement of sediment, even on low-angle slopes on the trench inner slope

Sedimentary Evolution of the Japan Fore-Arc Region off Northern Honshu, Legs 56 and 57, Deep Sea Drilling Project

The evolution of Neogene and Quaternary sedimentation in the fore-arc region off northern Honshu is evaluated using multichannel and single-channel seismic records in conjunction with the drill holes of the Japan Trench Transect (DSDP/IPOD Legs 56-57). The outer forearc region, which consisted of older sedimentary rocks and some calc-alkaline volcanic rocks, was subaerially exposed and eroded during the Paleogene and part of the Neogene. The deep sea terrace (fore-arc basin) region subsided below sea level in the early Miocene; most rapid subsidence occurred during the early to middle Miocene. Submergence progressed seaward so that the last vestige of the Oyashio landmass, which is now under the upper trench slope, was below sea level in the latest Miocene. Sediment sources to the outer fore-arc basin changed progressively from lithic, predominantly nonvolcanic material derived from the uplifted landmass during the late Paleogene-early Neogene to volcanic, arc-derived sediment rich in volcanic glass, Plagioclase, and volcanic lithic fragments. The volcaniclastic sediment was probably derived both from Honshu to the west and Hokkaido to the northwest. In response to subsidence the sedimentary depocenters in the fore-arc basin migrated generally seaward through time; the greatest relative seaward migration occurred between the late Miocene and Pliocene. Thick sediment sequences accumulated in slope basins on the trench inner slope. Sediment from the arc moved seaward to spill over the slope via large channels. An abrupt change in morphology and patterns of sedimentation apparently took place in the late Pliocene, coincident with a peak in explosive volcanism recorded in the form of ash layers and increased glass contents in sediment. The deep sea terrace was uplifted several hundreds of meters and a major channel crossing the fore-arc region was tilted landward and filled. At about the same time the midslope terrace basin was created and began rapidly accumulating sediment. The older basins, lower on the trench inner slope, were destroyed, possibly by steep seaward tilting, or filled. Large slump masses were sloughed-off downslope to the trench. Little sediment now accumulates on the trench inner slope in the vicinity of the sites, and older strata crop out on the slope. The locus of deposition has shifted northward off Hokkaido where a large channel feeds sediment to the slope. Large slump masses now fill the trench and are being accreted, creating a "toe" to the slope in this region. The evolution of the fore-arc region off northern Honshu has not been steady state. Tectonic accretion has been discontinuous, and tectonic erosion of the continental margin edge may have occurred periodically. Slope basins have been both created and abruptly destroyed at different points on the trench inner slope. There appears to be little possibility of distinguishing most sediment "scraped off" the oceanic plate from hemipelagic sediment deposited in the fore-arc region of Japan

Migrated Multichannel Seismic-Reflection Records across the Peru Continental Margin

We examined multichannel seismic records CDP-1, CDP-2, CDP-3, 1017, and records obtained during the site survey for Leg 112 to evaluate stratigraphy, tectonic evolution, and the structural character of the active margin offshore of Peru. From the reprocessed records we learned that the regionally uniform structure of the margin between 4°S and 14°S is modified by local tectonism. Common elements are crust of continental affinity beneath the middle and upper slope and an accretionary complex below the lower slope. The forearc basins have a varied tectonic history, which led to considerable differences in subsidence history and deformational style. Compressional tectonics dominate the front of the margin, whereas extension accounts for deformation landward of the midslope area

Interplate seismicity at the CRISP site: the 2002 Osa earthquake sequence

The Costa Rica Seismogenesis Project (CRISP) is designed to explore the processes involved in the nucleation of large interplate earthquakes in erosional subduction zones. On 16 June 2002 a magnitude Mw=6.4 earthquake and its aftershocks may have nucleated at the subduction thrust to be penetrated and sampled by CRISP, ~40 km west of Osa Peninsula. Global event locations present uncertainties too large to prove that the event actually occurred at a location and depth reachable by riser drilling. We have compiled a database including foreshocks, the main shock, and ~400 aftershocks, with phase arrival times from all the seismological networks that recorded the 2002 Osa sequence locally. This includes a temporal network of ocean-bottom hydrophones (OBH) that happened to be installed close to the area at the time of the earthquake. The coverage increase provided by the OBH network allow us to better constrain the event relocations, and to further analyze the seismicity in the vicinity of Osa for the six months during which they were deployed. Moreover, we undertook teleseismic waveform inversion to provide additional constraints for the centroid depth of the 2002 Osa earthquake, allowing further study of the focal mechanism. Along the Costa Rican seismogenic zone, the 2002 Osa sequence is the most recent. It nucleated in the SE region of the forearc where this erosional margin is underthrust by a seamount covered ocean plate. A Mw=6.9 earthquake sequence occurred in 1999, co-located with a subducted ridge and associated seamounts. The Osa mainshock and first hours of aftershocks began in the CRISP area, ~30 km seaward of the 1999 sequence. In the following two weeks, subsequent aftershocks migrated into the 1999 aftershock area and also clustered in an area updip from it. The Osa updip seismicity apparently occurred where interplate temperatures are ~100°C or less. In this study, we present the relocation of the 2002 Osa earthquake sequence and background seismicity using different techniques and a moment tensor inversion for the mainshock, and discuss the corresponding uncertainties, in an effort to provide further evidence that the planned Phase B of CRISP will be successful in drilling the seismogenic coupling zone

CRISP-EQ: Costa Rican Seismogenic potential outlined by IODP drilling and the 2002 Osa earthquake sequence

Interplate earthquakes in subduction zones are generated in the seismogenic zone, i.e. the segment of the plate boundary where unstable slip occurs. Understanding the mechanisms that control the updip and downdip limits of this zone, as well as the nature and role of asperities within it, provide significant insights into the rupture size and dynamics of the world’s largest earthquakes. The Costa Rica Seismogenesis Project (CRISP) is designed to understand the processes that control nucleation and seismic rupture propagation of large earthquakes at erosive subduction zones (Ranero et al. 2007). In 2002 a magnitude Mw=6.4 earthquake may have nucleated at the subduction thrust to be penetrated and sampled by CRISP, 40 km west of Osa Peninsula (Figure 1). However, global event localization is associated with too large errors to prove that the event actually occurred at a location and depth to be reachable by riser drilling. We have compiled a database including foreshocks, the main shock, and ~400 aftershocks, with readings from all the seismological networks that recorded the 2002 Osa sequence locally (Figure 1). This includes a temporal network of oceanbottom hydrophones (OBH) that happened to be installed close to the area (Arroyo et al. 2009). The greatly improved coverage provided by the OBH enable us to better constrain the event relocations that we are presently undertaking. Within the frame of a proposal recently submitted to DFG with IODP emphasis, detailed inspection of the data and 3-D data modelling will be carried out to yield source parameters that can be rated against structural information from seismic and drilling constraints. Moreover, teleseismic waveform inversion will provide additional constraints for the centroid depth of the 2002 Osa earthquake, allowing further study of the focal mechanism. This sequence is the latest at the Costa Rican seismogenic zone to date, in a segment of the erosional margin where seamount-covered oceanic floor is presently subducting (Figure 1). It took place trenchward from a 1999 Mw=6.9 earthquake sequence, that it is thought to have been nucleated by a seamount acting like an asperity (Bilek et al. 2003). The work proposed here aims to provide definite evidence that the planned Phase B of CRISP will be successful in drilling the seismogenic coupling zone. Furthermore, the seismological data will be interpreted jointly with thermal and drilling data from IODP Expedition 334 to refine the link between temperature and seismogenesis at erosive convergent margins

Subducting oceanic basement roughness impacts on upper-plate tectonic structure and a backstop splay fault zone activated in the southern Kodiak aftershock region of the Mw 9.2, 1964 megathrust rupture, Alaska

In 1964, the Alaska margin ruptured in a giant Mw 9.2 megathrust earthquake, the second largest during worldwide instrumental recording. The coseismic slip and aftershock region offshore Kodiak Island was surveyed in 1977–1981 to understand the region’s tectonics. We re-processed multichannel seismic (MCS) field data using current standard Kirchhoff depth migration and/or MCS traveltime tomography. Additional surveys in 1994 added P-wave velocity structure from wide-angle seismic lines and multibeam bathymetry. Published regional gravity, backscatter, and earthquake compilations also became available at this time. Beneath the trench, rough oceanic crust is covered by ~3–5-km-thick sediment. Sediment on the subducting plate modulates the plate interface relief. The imbricate thrust faults of the accreted prism have a complex P-wave velocity structure. Landward, an accelerated increase in P-wave velocities is marked by a backstop splay fault zone (BSFZ) that marks a transition from the prism to the higher rigidity rock beneath the middle and upper slope. Structures associated with this feature may indicate fluid flow. Farther upslope, another fault extends >100 km along strike across the middle slope. Erosion from subducting seamounts leaves embayments in the frontal prism. Plate interface roughness varies along the subduction zone. Beneath the lower and middle slope, 2.5D plate interface images show modest relief, whereas the oceanic basement image is rougher. The 1964 earthquake slip maximum coincides with the leading and/or landward flank of a subducting seamount and the BSFZ. The BSFZ is a potentially active structure and should be considered in tsunami hazard assessments