CMT inversion for small-to-moderate earthquakes applying to dense short-period OBS array at off Ibaraki region

Abstract

Abstract We conducted centroid moment tensor (CMT) inversion for small-to-moderate aftershocks in the off Ibaraki region of the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku earthquake. In this study, we used high-frequency (0.4–1.0 Hz) seismograms from a dense array of short-period ocean bottom seismometers (OBSs) and a reliable three-dimensional (3-D) seismic velocity model. Higher frequency analysis and dense OBS arrays offer CMT solutions with high spatial resolutions. Since our OBS array observed aftershocks occurring immediately following the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku earthquake, we determined 536 CMT solutions for small-to-moderate aftershocks in the off Ibaraki region (JMA-scale magnitudes of 2.5–4.0). According to our CMT solutions, characteristics of the aftershock activities in the off Ibaraki region are classified into 5 groups: (1) thrust earthquakes, which are considered as interplate earthquakes, separated by the large slip area of the 2011 Ibaraki-oki earthquake (the largest $${\mathrm{M}}_{\mathrm{w}}$$ M w 7.6 aftershock of the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku earthquake) and the tectonic tremors; (2) intraslab strike-slip earthquakes located at the north of the fault area of the 2011 Ibaraki-oki earthquake; (3) intraslab normal-fault earthquakes, which suggest a tensional stress field within the subducting Pacific Plate due to the plate bending by the overriding Philippine Sea Plate; (4) various earthquake focal mechanisms above a subducting seamount, which suggest the 3-D complex fractures; and (5) normal-fault earthquakes shallower than the interplate earthquakes, which were possibly caused by the heterogeneity of the subducting seamount. Graphical Abstract

Keywords

• CMT inversion
• Ocean bottom seismometer
• Focal mechanism
• Off Ibaraki
• The 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku earthquake