Block Motion Changes in Japan Triggered by the 2011 Great Tohoku Earthquake

Plate motions are governed by equilibrium between basal and edge forces. Great earthquakes may induce differential static stress changes across tectonic plates, enabling a new equilibrium state. Here we consider the torque balance for idealized circular plates and find a simple scalar relationship for changes in relative plate speed as a function of its size, upper mantle viscosity, and coseismic stress changes. Applied to Japan, the 2011 $\mathrm{M}_{\mathrm{W}}=9.0$ Tohoku earthquake generated coseismic stresses of $10^2-10^5$~Pa that could have induced changes in motion of small (radius $\sim100$~km) crustal blocks within Honshu. Analysis of time-dependent GPS velocities, with corrections for earthquake cycle effects, reveals that plate speeds may have changed by up to $\sim3$ mm/yr between $\sim3.75$-year epochs bracketing this earthquake, consistent with an upper mantle viscosity of $\sim 5\times10^{18}$Pa$\cdot$s, suggesting that great earthquakes may modulate motions of proximal crustal blocks at frequencies as high as $10^-8$~Hz

Super-Interseismic Periods: Redefining Earthquake Recurrence

Precise geodetic measurements made over broad swaths of tectonically active regions record patterns of interseismic strain accumulation, providing key insights into the locus and timing of pending earthquakes. Recent studies of geodetic position time series, including that of Melnick et al. (2017), illustrate temporal variation in the pattern of interseismic deformation. These authors propose that the 2010 Mw = 8.8 Maule, Chile, earthquake enhanced coupling on the Andean subduction zone adjacent to the rupture, including on the portion of the megathrust that broke 5 years later in the Mw = 8.3 Illapel event

Spatial Correlation of Interseismic Coupling and Coseismic Rupture Extent of the 2011 MW_W = 9.0 Tohoku-oki Earthquake

Imaging the extent to which the rupture areas of great earthquakes coincide with regions of pre-seismic interplate coupling is central to understanding patterns of strain accumulation and release through the earthquake cycle. Both geodetic and seismic estimates of the coseismic rupture extent for the March 11, 2011 $M_W = 8.9–9.0$ earthquake Tohoku-oki earthquake may be spatially correlated (0.26 ± 0.05 to 0.82 ± 0.05) with a region estimated to be partially to fully coupled in the interseismic period preceding the earthquake, though there is substantial variation in the estimated distribution and magnitude of coseismic slip. The ∼400 km-long region estimated to have slipped ≥4 m corresponds to an area of the subduction zone interface that was coupled at ≥30% of long-term plate convergence rate, with peak slip near a region coupled ≥80%. The northern termination of rupture is collocated with a region of relatively low (<20%) interseismic coupling near the epicenter of the 1994 $M_W = 7.6$ Sanriku-oki earthquake, and near a region of potential long-term low coupling or ongoing slow slip. Slip on the subduction interface beneath the coastline (40–50 km depth) is best constrained by the land-based GPS data and least constrained on the shallowest portion of the plate interface due to the ∼230 km distance between geodetic observations and the Japan trench.Earth and Planetary Science

Continuation of the mini-technology development center program in Barrow, Madison, and Jackson counties

Issued as Quarterly reports, nos. 1-3, and Final reports, nos. 1-2, Project no. L-30-812(subproject is B-562

Spatial Correlation of Interseismic Coupling and Coseismic Rupture Extent of the 2011 MW=9.0 Tohoku-Oki Earthquake

Imaging the extent to which the rupture areas of great earthquakes coincide with regions of pre-seismic interplate coupling is central to understanding patterns of strain accumulation and release through the earthquake cycle. Both geodetic and seismic estimates of the coseismic rupture extent for the March 11, 2011 MW = 8.9–9.0 earthquake Tohoku-oki earthquake may be spatially correlated (0.26 ± 0.05 to 0.82 ± 0.05) with a region estimated to be partially to fully coupled in the interseismic period preceding the earthquake, though there is substantial variation in the estimated distribution and magnitude of coseismic slip. The ∼400 km-long region estimated to have slipped ≥4 m corresponds to an area of the subduction zone interface that was coupled at ≥30% of long-term plate convergence rate, with peak slip near a region coupled ≥80%. The northern termination of rupture is collocated with a region of relatively low (\u3c20%) interseismic coupling near the epicenter of the 1994 MW = 7.6 Sanriku-oki earthquake, and near a region of potential long-term low coupling or ongoing slow slip. Slip on the subduction interface beneath the coastline (40–50 km depth) is best constrained by the land-based GPS data and least constrained on the shallowest portion of the plate interface due to the ∼230 km distance between geodetic observations and the Japan trench

Establishment of a mini-advanced technology development center

Issued as Quarterly reports no. [1-3] and Final report, Project no. L-30-802 (subproject is B-558/P.D. Loveless

Investigating Strike-Slip Faulting Parallel to the Icelandic Plate Boundary Using Boundary Element Models

Most faults in Iceland strike roughly parallel to the divergent plate boundary, a part of the North American-Eurasian plate boundary, which would be expected to lead to primarily normal faulting. However, several studies have observed a significant component of rift-parallel strike-slip faulting in Iceland. To investigate these fault kinematics, we use the boundary element method to model fault slip and crustal stress patterns of the Icelandic tectonic system, including a spherical hotspot and uniaxial stress that represents rifting. On a network of faults, we estimate the slip required to relieve traction imposed by hotspot inflation and remote rifting stress and compare the model results with observed slip kinematics, crustal seismicity, and geodetic data. We note a good fit between model-predicted and observed deformation metrics, with both indicating significant components of normal and strike-slip faulting and consistency between recent data and longer-term records of geologic fault slip. Possible stress permutations between steeply plunging σ1 and σ2 axes are common in our models, suggesting that localized stress perturbations may impact strike-slip faulting. Some increases in model complexity, including older hotspot configurations and allowing fault opening to simulate dike intrusion, show improvement to model fit in select regions. This work provides new insight into the physical mechanisms driving faulting styles within Iceland away from the current active plate boundary, implying that a significant portion of observed strike-slip faulting is likely caused by the combined effects of tectonic rifting, hotspot impacts, and mechanical interactions across the fault network

Developing the Technique of Measurements of Magnetic Field in the CMS Steel Yoke Elements With Flux-Loops and Hall Probes

Compact muon solenoid (CMS) is a general-purpose detector designed to run at the highest luminosity at the CERN large hadron collider (LHC). Its distinctive features include a 4 T superconducting solenoid with 6 m diameter by 12.5 m long free bore, enclosed inside a 10000-ton return yoke made of construction steel. Accurate characterization of the magnetic field everywhere in theCMSdetector, including the large ferromagnetic parts of the yoke, is required. To measure the field in and around ferromagnetic parts, a set of flux-loops and Hall probe sensors will be installed on several of the steel pieces. Fast discharges of the solenoid during system commissioning tests will be used to induce voltages in the flux-loops that can be integrated to measure the flux in the steel at full excitation of the solenoid. The Hall sensors will give supplementary information on the axial magnetic field and permit estimation of the remanent field in the steel after the fast discharge. An experimental R&D program has been undertaken, using a test flux-loop, two Hall sensors, and sample disks made from the same construction steel used for the CMS magnet yoke. A sample disc, assembled with the test flux-loop and the Hall sensors, was inserted between the pole tips of a dipole electromagnet equipped with a computer-controlled power supply to measure the excitation of the steel from full saturation to zero field. The results of the measurements are presented and discussed.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figures, 6 reference

Geodetic Constraints on San Francisco Bay Area Fault Slip Rates and Potential Seismogenic Asperities on the Partially Creeping Hayward Fault

The Hayward fault in the San Francisco Bay Area (SFBA) is sometimes considered unusual among continental faults for exhibiting significant aseismic creep during the interseismic phase of the seismic cycle while also generating sufficient elastic strain to produce major earthquakes. Imaging the spatial variation in interseismic fault creep on the Hayward fault is complicated because of the interseismic strain accumulation associated with nearby faults in the SFBA, where the relative motion between the Pacific plate and the Sierra block is partitioned across closely spaced subparallel faults. To estimate spatially variable creep on the Hayward fault, we interpret geodetic observations with a three-dimensional kinematically consistent block model of the SFBA fault system. Resolution tests reveal that creep rate variations with a length scale of <15 km are poorly resolved below 7 km depth. In addition, creep at depth may be sensitive to assumptions about the kinematic consistency of fault slip rate models. Differential microplate motions result in a slip rate of 6.7 ± 0.8 mm/yr on the Hayward fault, and we image along-strike variations in slip deficit rate at ∼15 km length scales shallower than 7 km depth. Similar to previous studies, we identify a strongly coupled asperity with a slip deficit rate of up to 4 mm/yr on the central Hayward fault that is spatially correlated with the mapped surface trace of the 1868 $M_W = 6.9–7.0$ Hayward earthquake and adjacent to gabbroic fault surfaces.Earth and Planetary Science