Citation

Sato M, Ishikawa T, Ujihara N, Yoshida S, Fujita M, Mochizuki M, Asada A. Science 2011; 332(6036): 1395.

Affiliation

Hydrographic and Oceanographic Department, Japan Coast Guard, 5-3-1 Tsukiji, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0045, Japan.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, American Association for the Advancement of Science)

DOI

10.1126/science.1207401

PMID

21596950

Abstract

The moment magnitude (M(w)) = 9.0 2011 Tohoku-Oki megathrust earthquake occurred off the coast of northeastern Japan. Combining Global Positioning System (GPS) and acoustic data, we detected very large seafloor movements associated with this event directly above the focal region. An area with more than 20 meters of horizontal displacement-that is, four times larger than those detected on land-stretches several tens of kilometers long along the trench; the largest amount reaches about 24 meters toward east-southeast just above the hypocenter. Furthermore, nearly 3 meters of vertical uplift occurred, contrary to observed terrestrial subsidence.

Language: en