Tectonic evolution of the Nootka fault zone and deformation of the shallow subducted Explorer plate in northern Cascadia as revealed by earthquake distributions and seismic tomography.

At the northern Cascadia subduction zone, the subducting Explorer and Juan de Fuca plates interact across a transform deformation zone, known as the Nootka fault zone (NFZ). This study continues the Seafloor Earthquake Array Japan Canada Cascadia Experiment to a second phase (SeaJade II) consisting of nine months of recording of earthquakes using ocean-bottom and land-based seismometers. In addition to mapping the distribution of seismicity, including an M 6.

Detection of hydroacoustic signals on a fiber-optic submarine cable.

A ship-based seismic survey was conducted close to a fiber-optic submarine cable, and 50 km-long distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) recordings with air-gun shots were obtained for the first time. We examine the acquired DAS dataset together with the co-located hydrophones to investigate the detection capability of underwater acoustic (hydroacoustic) signals. Here, we show the hydroacoustic signals identified by the DAS measurement characterizing in frequency-time space.

Correlation of frontal prism structures and slope failures near the trench axis with shallow megathrust slip at the Japan Trench.

Since the giant 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, much research has focused on the distribution of coseismic slip at shallow depths during this subduction megathrust event. Here we present seismic images obtained in the immediate vicinity of the trench axis, that show thrust faults and fold-and-thrust type deformation structures near the epicenter of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake where the large coseismic slip has been inferred, and chaotic structure and the absence of thrust faults in northern and southern source areas. Seismic profiles show evidence of slope failures of the trench inner wall in a proposed tsunami source region around 39°-40° N, where the slips estimated from previous studies are in disagreement.

Ambient seafloor noise excited by earthquakes in the Nankai subduction zone.

Excitations of seismic background noises are mostly related to fluid disturbances in the atmosphere, ocean and the solid Earth. Earthquakes have not been considered as a stationary excitation source because they occur intermittently. Here we report that acoustic-coupled Rayleigh waves (at 0.