Displacement Above the Hypocenter of the 2011 Tohoku-Oki Earthquake

• DOI: 10.1126/science.1207401
• Publication Date: 2011-05-20T03:12:56Z
• Authors: Mariko Sato; Tadashi Ishikawa; Naoto Ujihara; Shigeru Yoshida; Masayuki Fujita; Masashi Mochizuki; Akira Asada
• Keywords: 01 natural sciences; 0105 earth and related environmental sciences

The Quake That Rocked Japan

The 11 March 2011 magnitude 9.0 Tohoku-Oki megathrust earthquake just off the Eastern coast of Japan was one of the largest earthquakes in recorded history. Japan's considerable investment in seismic and geodetic networks allowed for the collection of rapid and reliable data on the mechanics of the earthquake and the devastating tsunami that followed (see the Perspective by

Heki

).

Sato et al.

(p. 1395 , published online 19 May) describe the huge displacements from ocean bottom transponders—previously placed directly above the earthquake's hypocenter—communicating with Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers aboard a ship.

Simons et al.

(p. 1421 , published online 19 May) used land-based GPS receivers and tsunami gauge measurements to model the kinematics and extent of the earthquake, comparing it to past earthquakes in Japan and elsewhere. Finally,

Ide et al.

(p. 1426 , published online 19 May) used finite-source imaging to model the evolution of the earthquake's rupture that revealed a strong depth dependence in both slip and seismic energy. These initial results provide fundamental insights into the behavior of rare, very large earthquakes that may aid in preparation and early warning efforts for future tsunamis following subduction zone earthquakes.