Temporal variation of crustal structure is key to our understanding of Earth processes on human timescales. Often, we expect that the most significant structural variations are caused by strong ground shaking associated with large earthquakes, and recent studies seem to confirm this. Here we test the possibility of using P receiver functions (PRF) to isolate structural variations over time. Synthetic receiver function tests indicate that structural variation could produce PRF changes on the same order of magnitude as random noise or contamination by local earthquakes. Nonetheless, we find significant variability in observed receiver functions over time at several stations located in northeastern Honshu. Immediately following the Tohoku-oki earthquake, we observe high PRF variation clustering spatially, especially in two regions near the beginning and end of the rupture plane. Due to the depth sensitivity of PRF and the timescales over which this variability is observed, we infer this effect is primarily due to fluid migration in volcanic regions and shear stress/strength reorganization. While the noise levels in PRF are high for this type of analysis, by sampling small data sets, the computational cost is lower than other methods, such as ambient noise, thereby making PRF a useful tool for estimating temporal variations in crustal structure.

The 2011 March 11 Tohoku-Oki earthquake with moment magnitude of 9.0 east of Honshu, Japan, has been the fourth strongest event in the era of instrumental seismology. This thesis is focussed on a detailed analysis of earthquake distribution in time and space in the broader area of Honshu during the time interval of fifty years (1964 - 2013), and on correlation of seismological data with tectonic structure and surface morphology, including the sea floor. The aim of the thesis is not to predict the earthquake retroactively but to put its occurrence into the context of the long-term development of seismicity, to identity differences in the seismic response to the process of plate tectonics prior, during and after the Tohoku-Oki earthquake and to delimitate the tectonic causes of areal limitation of the extent of the aftershock series. The space-time analysis of the development of earthquake occurrence utilized relocated hypocentral parameters primarily identified by the International Seismological Centre (so called EHB data), focal mechanisms of the Global Centroid Moment Tensor Solution programme, surface morphology and bathymetry data, and eruptive history database of active volcanoes. A series of epicentral maps and vertical sections of focal zones were construced for the analysis of seismic...

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(理学) / 甲第23455号 / 理博第4749号 / 新制||理||1681(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院理学研究科地球惑星科学専攻 / (主査)准教授 成瀬 元 助教 松岡 廣繁, 教授 生形 貴男 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(理学) / 甲第25126号 / 理博第5033号 / 新制||理||1718(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院理学研究科地球惑星科学専攻 / (主査)准教授 成瀬 元, 教授 田上 高広, 教授 生形 貴男 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Agricultural Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(理学) / 甲第18801号 / 理博第4059号 / 新制||理||1584(附属図書館) / 31752 / 京都大学大学院理学研究科地球惑星科学専攻 / (主査)教授 岩田 知孝, 教授 平原 和朗, 准教授 久家 慶子 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Science / Kyoto University / DGAM

The slip behaviour of subduction faults and the viscoelastic rheology of Earth’s mantle govern crustal deformation throughout the subduction earthquake cycle. This Ph.D. dissertation presents research results on two topics: (1) coseismic and postseismic slip of the shallowest segment of subduction faults and (2) postseismic deformation following great subduction earthquakes controlled by mantle viscoelasticity. Topic 1: Slip behaviour of the shallowest subduction faults. By modelling high-resolution cross-trench bathymetry surveys before and after the 2011 Mw 9.0 Tohoku-oki earthquake, we determine the magnitude and distribution of coseismic slip over the most near-trench 40 km of the Japan Trench megathrust. The inferred > 60 m average slip and a gentle increase by 5 m towards the trench over this distance indicate moderate degree of net coseismic weakening of the shallow fault. Using near-trench seafloor and sub-seafloor fluid pressure variations as strain indicators in conjunction with land-based geodetic measurements, we determine coseismic-slip and afterslip distributions of the 2012 Mw 7.6 Costa Rica earthquake. Here, trench-breaching slip similar to the Tohoku-oki rupture did not occur during the earthquake, but afterslip extended to the trench axis and reached ~0.7 m over 1.3 years after the earthquake, exhibiting a velocity-strengthening behaviour. These two contrasting examples bracket a possibly wide range of slip behaviour of the shallow megathrust. They help us understand why large tsunamis are generated by some but not all subduction earthquakes. Topic 2: Postseismic deformation following great subduction earthquakes. Due to the asymmetry of megathrust rupture, with the upper plate undergoing greater coseismic tension than the incoming plate, viscoelastic stress relaxation causes the trench and land areas to move in opposite, opposing directions immediately after the earthquake. Seafloor geodetic measurements following the 2011 Tohoku-oki earthquake, modelled in this work, provided the first direct observational evidence for this effect. Systematic modelling studies in this work suggest that such viscoelastic opposing motion should be common to all Mw ≥ 8 subduction earthquakes. As the effect of viscoelastic relaxation decays with time and the effect of fault relocking becomes increasingly dominant, the dividing boundary of the opposing motion continues to migrate away from the rupture area. Comparative studies of ten 8 ≤ Mw ≤ 9.5 subduction earthquakes in this dissertation quantifies the primary role of earthquake size in controlling the “speed” of the evolution of this deformation. Larger earthquakes are followed by longer-lived opposing motion that affects a broader region of the upper plate. / Graduate