Estimation of the Slip Rate Along the Unruptured Fault Segment of the M7.2 1896 Rikuu Earthquake, Northeast Japan

Abstract

The northeast Japan arc is one of the most seismically active plate boundary systems in the world recording a convergence rate of ∼9 cm/yr between the Pacific and the Eurasian plates (Seno et al., 1996) (Figure 1a). The plate boundary has hosted several large magnitude earthquakes, of which the 2011 Tohoku mega-subduction earthquake (M w 9.0-9.1), claimed 15,641 lives and caused around 300-billion-dollar worth of damage, making it one of the five deadliest earthquakes of the modern era (