We estimated the long-term vertical velocity profile across the northeastern Japan forearc by using the height distribution of late Quaternary marine and fluvial terraces, and we correlated the ages of the two marine terraces with marine isotope stages (MIS) 5.5 and 5.3 or 5.1 by cryptotephra stratigraphy. The uplift rate, estimated as 0.11–0.19 m ka− 1 from the relative heights between the terrace surfaces and eustatic sea levels, was nearly equal to, or slightly slower than, the uplift rate farther inland (0.15–0.19 m ka− 1), as determined from the relative heights of fill terrace surfaces. In contrast, the short-term vertical velocity profile, obtained from GPS observations, showed that the forearc is currently subsiding at a maximum rate of 5.4 ± 0.4 mm yr− 1. Thus, the current short-term (geodetic) subsidence does not reflect long-term (geological) tectonic movement. Short-term vertical deformation is probably driven by subduction erosion or elastic deformation caused by interplate coupling, or both. However, long-term uplift is probably due not to moment release on the mega-thrust but to crustal thickening.

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Please cite this article as: H. Saomoto, J. Katagiri, Direct comparison of hydraulic tortuosity and electric tortuosity based on finite element analysis, Theoretical and Applied Mechanics Letters (2015), http://dx.Abstract Tortuosity is one of the key parameters to characterize the transport properties of porous media. There are many models for tortuosity estimation based on some definitions: geometric, hydraulic, electric, and diffusive difinitions. However, relationships among those tortuosities remain unclear due to the lack of direct comparison on the same porous media. Here we focus on hydraulic and electric tortuosities and have conducted a series of finite element simulations with the Navier-Stokes equation and the equation for electric current to directly compare tortuosities. The results revealed that: (1) on average, hydraulic tortuosity is 15% greater than that of the electric one; (2) the proposed model based on the van Genuchten-type function successfully approximates both hydraulic and electric tortuosities; (3) tortuosities obtained from the porous media packed with circular particles and square particles show quantitatively similar trends.

an inland earthquake of M w 5.8 occurred in Awaji Island, which forms the western boundary of the Osaka sedimentary basin in western Japan. The strong ground motion data were collected from more than 100 stations within the basin and it was found that in the Osaka Plain, the pseudo velocity response spectra at a period of around 6.5 s were significantly larger than at other stations of similar epicentral distance outside the basin. The ground motion lasted longer than 3 min in the Osaka Plain where its bedrock depth spatially varies from approximately 1 to 2 km. We modelled long-period (higher than 2 s) ground motions excited by this earthquake, using the finite difference method assuming a point source, to validate the present velocity structure model and to obtain better constraint of the attenuation factor of the sedimentary part of the basin. The effect of attenuation in the simulation was included in the form of Q(f) = Q 0 (f/f 0 ), where Q 0 at a reference frequency f 0 was given by a function of the S-wave velocity, Q 0 = αV S . We searched for appropriate Q 0 values by changing α for a fixed value of f 0 = 0.2 Hz. It was found that values of α from 0.2 to 0.5 fitted the observations reasonably well, but that the value of α = 0.3 performed best. Good agreement between the observed and simulated velocity waveforms was obtained for most stations within the Osaka Basin in terms of both amplitude and ground motion duration. However, underestimation of the pseudo velocity response spectra in the period range of 5-7 s was recognized in the central part of the Osaka Plain, which was caused by the inadequate modelling of later phases or wave packets in this period range observed approximately 2 min after the direct S-wave arrival. We analysed this observed later phase and concluded that it was a Love wave originating from the direction of the east coast of Awaji Island.