A slump in the trench: Tracking the impact of the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake

Strasser, Michael; Kölling, Martin; Ferreira, Christian dos Santos; Fink, Hiske G; Fujiwara, Toshiya; Henkel, Susann; Ikehara, Ken; Kanamatsu, Toshiya; Kawamura, Kazutaka; Kodaira, Shuichi; Römer, Miriam; Wefer, Gerold; scientists, Jamstec Cruise Mr E

doi:10.1130/g34477.1

Cited by 88 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…This is also consistent with the inferred sedimentation mode 25 whereby earthquake-triggered gravity flows rapidly remobilize and translocate previously deposited sediment and its associated OM from the continental margin to the deep Japan Trench. Gravity flows triggered by tectonic events such as earthquakes (and resultant tsunamis and landslides) lead to relatively high sedimentation rates in these abyssal settings (refs 10,11,25 , and references therein). The interseismic hemipelagic deposits that form with high sedimentation rates from 0.8 to >3.0 m kyr −1 effectively cover earthquake-induced turbidites and volcanic ash layers and preserve the deposits as a geological record of large tectonic and volcanic events 25 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sediment remobilization induced by the Tohoku-oki earthquake (moment magnitude >9) and associated tsunami that struck NE Japan on 11 March 2011 triggered dense nepheloid layers in the >7 km-deep Japan Trench 9 and resulted in characteristic event deposits in underlying sediments 10,11,25 . The Japan Trench is an oceanic trench formed by the subduction of the oceanic Pacific Plate below the Okhotsk Plate 26 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Japan Trench is an oceanic trench formed by the subduction of the oceanic Pacific Plate below the Okhotsk Plate 26 . This plate boundary system is an active seismogenic zone that hosted the most recent tsunamigenic mega-earthquake 27 , triggering widespread remobilization and subsequent re-deposition of sediment and associated OM in confined terminal basins with water depths >7 km, far below the CCD 9,10,25 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Tectonically-triggered sediment and carbon export to the Hadal zone

et al. 2018

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Sediments in deep ocean trenches may contain crucial information on past earthquake history and constitute important sites of carbon burial. Here we present 14C data on bulk organic carbon (OC) and its thermal decomposition fractions produced by ramped pyrolysis/oxidation for a core retrieved from the >7.5 km-deep Japan Trench. High-resolution 14C measurements, coupled with distinctive thermogram characteristics of OC, reveal hemipelagic sedimentation interrupted by episodic deposition of pre-aged OC in the trench. Low δ13C values and diverse 14C ages of thermal fractions imply that the latter material originates from the adjacent margin, and the co-occurrence of pre-aged OC with intervals corresponding to known earthquake events implies tectonically triggered, gravity-flow-driven supply. We show that 14C ages of thermal fractions can yield valuable chronological constraints on sedimentary sequences. Our findings shed new light on links between tectonically driven sedimentological processes and marine carbon cycling, with implications for carbon dynamics in hadal environments.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Tectonically-triggered sediment and carbon export to the Hadal zone

et al. 2018

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“…Soft‐sediment deformation is a disruption of unlithified sediments (Alsop et al, ; Owen et al, ; Van Loon, ) and is widely documented in both subaerial (McKEE et al, ; Moretti, ; Pedersen et al, ) and subaqueous environments (Avşar et al, ; Gladkov et al, ; Jiang et al, ; Sims, ). Commonly, the disturbances are triggered either by seismic shaking (Liu‐Zeng et al, ; Monecke et al, ; Sakaguchi et al, ; Sims, ; Strasser, Kölling, et al, ) or by nonseismic triggers, for example, tides (Greb & Archer, ), storm waves (Molina et al, ), floods (Li et al, ), and sediment overloads (Moretti et al, ; Moretti & Sabato, ). These disturbances have been used to interpret paleoseismic and paleoclimatic events.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interpreting Soft Sediment Deformation and Mass Transport Deposits as Seismites in the Dead Sea Depocenter

et al. 2017

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We have studied the history of earthquakes over the past 70 kyr by analyzing disturbed sedimentary layers around the margins of the Dead Sea. However, we know little about disturbances in the basin depocenter, where water depth is ~300 m, and accessible only by drilling. In this study, we compare disturbances from the Dead Sea depocenter, with the contemporaneous earthquake record (~56–30 ka) that was recovered on the western margin of the lake. This comparison allows us to discern the characteristics of disturbance in the different subaqueous environments and identify the source and sedimentary process of mass transport deposits. Our observations indicate that (i) the long disturbance sequences in the Dead Sea depocenter are composed of in situ deformation, slump, and chaotic deposits; (ii) earthquake‐triggered Kelvin‐Helmholtz Instability is a plausible mechanism for the in situ deformation in the lake center; (iii) the slump is slope area sourced; (iv) the unit of chaotic deposits is lakeshore sourced; and (v) earthquake‐triggered slope instability is a viable mechanism for the slump and chaotic deposits. We further suggest that long sequences of disturbance in seismically active lake depocenters can be used to infer earthquake clusters.

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“…Kimura et al (2012) analyzed a cross section of the Japan Trench using the critical taper theory (Davis et al 1983), and they estimated the effective frictional coefficient of the plate boundary megathrust. Sampled cores and profiles taken after the earthquake indicate that the frontal deformation is characterized by rotational slumping extending to the trench axis (Strasser et al 2013). …”

Section: Tectonic Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Friction properties of the plate boundary megathrust beneath the frontal wedge near the Japan Trench: an inference from topographic variation

et al. 2014

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The 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake (Mw 9.0) produced a fault rupture that extended to the toe of the Japan Trench. The deformation and frictional properties beneath the forearc are keys that can help to elucidate this unusual event.In the present study, to investigate the frictional properties of the shallow part of the plate boundary, we applied the critically tapered Coulomb wedge theory to the Japan Trench and obtained the effective coefficient of basal friction μ ′ b À Áand Hubbert-Rubey pore fluid pressure ratio (λ) of the wedge beneath the lower slope. We extracted the surface slope angle and décollement dip angle (which are the necessary topographic parameters for applying the critical taper theory) from seismic reflection and refraction survey data at 12 sites in the frontal wedges of the Japan Trench. We found that the angle between the décollement and back-stop interface generally decreases toward the north. The measured taper angle and inferred effective friction coefficient were remarkably high at three locations. The southernmost area, which had the highest coefficient of basal friction, coincides with the area where the seamount is colliding offshore of Fukushima. The second area with a high effective coefficient of basal friction coincides with the maximum slip location during the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake. The area of the 2011 earthquake rupture was topographically unique from other forearc regions in the Japan Trench. The strain energy accumulation near the trench axis may have proceeded because of the relatively high friction, and later this caused a large slip and collapse of the wedge. The location off Sanriku, where there are neither seamount collisions nor rupture propagation, also has a high coefficient of basal friction. The characteristics of the taper angle, effective coefficient of basal friction, and pore fluid pressure ratio along the Japan Trench presented herein may contribute to the understanding of the relationship between the geometry of the prism and the potential for generating seismo-tsunamigenic slips.

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A slump in the trench: Tracking the impact of the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake

Cited by 88 publications

References 24 publications

Tectonically-triggered sediment and carbon export to the Hadal zone

Tectonically-triggered sediment and carbon export to the Hadal zone

Interpreting Soft Sediment Deformation and Mass Transport Deposits as Seismites in the Dead Sea Depocenter

Friction properties of the plate boundary megathrust beneath the frontal wedge near the Japan Trench: an inference from topographic variation

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