Publication Date:
2013-12-07
Description:
The mechanics of great subduction earthquakes are influenced by the frictional properties, structure, and composition of the plate-boundary fault. We present observations of the structure and composition of the shallow source fault of the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake and tsunami from boreholes drilled by the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 343 and 343T. Logging-while-drilling and core-sample observations show a single major plate-boundary fault accommodated the large slip of the Tohoku-Oki earthquake rupture, as well as nearly all the cumulative interplate motion at the drill site. The localization of deformation onto a limited thickness (less than 5 meters) of pelagic clay is the defining characteristic of the shallow earthquake fault, suggesting that the pelagic clay may be a regionally important control on tsunamigenic earthquakes.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Chester, Frederick M -- Rowe, Christie -- Ujiie, Kohtaro -- Kirkpatrick, James -- Regalla, Christine -- Remitti, Francesca -- Moore, J Casey -- Toy, Virginia -- Wolfson-Schwehr, Monica -- Bose, Santanu -- Kameda, Jun -- Mori, James J -- Brodsky, Emily E -- Eguchi, Nobuhisa -- Toczko, Sean -- Expedition 343 and 343T Scientists -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2013 Dec 6;342(6163):1208-11. doi: 10.1126/science.1243719.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Center for Tectonophysics, Department of Geology and Geophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24311682" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉
Print ISSN:
0036-8075
Electronic ISSN:
1095-9203
Topics:
Biology
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Chemistry and Pharmacology
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Computer Science
,
Medicine
,
Natural Sciences in General
,
Physics
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