Upper-plate conduits linked to plate boundary that hosts slow earthquakes.

In shallow subduction zones, fluid behavior impacts various geodynamic processes capable of regulating slip behaviors and forming mud volcanoes. However, evidence of structures that control the fluid transfer within an overriding plate is limited and the physical properties at the source faults of slow earthquakes are poorly understood. Here we present high-resolution seismic velocity models and reflection images of the Hyuga-nada area, Japan, where the Kyushu-Palau ridge subducts. We image distinct kilometer-wide columns in the upper plate with reduced velocities that extend vertically from the seafloor down to 10-13 km depth. We interpret the low-velocity columns as damaged zones caused by seamount subduction and suggest that they serve as conduits, facilitating vertical fluid migration from the plate boundary. The lateral variation in upper-plate velocity and seismic reflectivity along the plate boundary correlates with the distribution of slow earthquakes, indicating that the upper-plate drainage system controls the complex pattern of seismic slip at subduction faults.

Model for tectonic tremors: Enduring events, moment rate spectrum, and moment-duration scaling.

Numerous attempts have been made to obtain earthquake statistics from a theoretical-physics perspective, but these studies mostly involve regular earthquakes. In recent years, a new category of earthquakes, referred to as slow earthquakes, has been discovered. Slow earthquakes emit only weak or no seismic signals and have different statistics than regular earthquakes. Here we propose a physical model for the tremor, which is a type of slow earthquake, introducing two competing timescales in a cellular automaton model. The proposed model reproduces some observation results for tremors, such as enduring events, moment-duration scaling, size distribution, and the power spectrum of the moment rate function.

Slow slip near the trench at the Hikurangi subduction zone, New Zealand.

The range of fault slip behaviors near the trench at subduction plate boundaries is critical to know, as this is where the world's largest, most damaging tsunamis are generated. Our knowledge of these behaviors has remained largely incomplete, partially due to the challenging nature of crustal deformation measurements at offshore plate boundaries. Here we present detailed seafloor deformation observations made during an offshore slow-slip event (SSE) in September and October 2014, using a network of absolute pressure gauges deployed at the Hikurangi subduction margin offshore New Zealand. These data show the distribution of vertical seafloor deformation during the SSE and reveal direct evidence for SSEs occurring close to the trench (within 2 kilometers of the seafloor), where very low temperatures and pressures exist.

Weak interplate coupling by seamounts and repeating M approximately 7 earthquakes.

Subducting seamounts are thought to increase the normal stress between subducting and overriding plates. However, recent seismic surveys and laboratory experiments suggest that interplate coupling is weak. A seismic survey in the Japan Trench shows that a large seamount is being subducted near a region of repeating earthquakes of magnitude M approximately 7. Both observed seismicity and the pattern of rupture propagation during the 1982 M 7.0 event imply that interplate coupling was weak over the seamount. A large rupture area with small slip occurred in front of the seamount. Its northern bound could be determined by a trace of multiple subducted seamounts. Whereas a subducted seamount itself may not define the rupture area, its width may be influenced by that of the seamount.