Seismic Velocity Structure in the Crust and Upper Mantle beneath Northern Japan.

Abstract

W e have applied an inverse method to P and S wave arrival time data observed at 52 seismic stations for 349 local earthquakes in order to estimate a three-dimensional (3-D) velocity structure beneath northern Japan. The method is characterized by a simultaneous determination of the two-dimensional depth distributions of velocity boundaries, 3-D velocity distribution and station corrections as well as hypocenter parameters of earthquakes. The Moho discontinuity under eastern Hokkaido is inclined from a depth of 32 km beneath the Hidaka Mountains to 20 km beneath the Konsen Plateau, while the thick crust with a thickness of 30-36 km distributes widely in western Hokkaido and the Tohoku region. The dip direction of the Moho in eastern Hokkaido is approximately perpendicular to the range of the Hidaka Mountains. The upper boundary of the subducting Pacific plate distributes in the depth range from 50 to 170 km in the surveyed area and the dip angle of the plate boundary in eastern Hokkaido (the Kurile arc) is slightly larger than that in the Tohoku region (the northeastern Japan arc).Estimated P (S) wave velocities are 5.8-7.0 km/s (3.4-4.1 km/s) in the crust, 7.4-8.0 km/s (4.2-4.5 km/s) in the upper mantle, and 8.1-8.6 km/s (4.6-4.9 km/s) in the plate, respectively. The velocities in the crust beneath northern Hokkaido are lower than those beneath eastern Hokkaido and the Tohoku region. The upper mantle has velocities which gradually increase with depth, and the subducted plate contains a high velocity zone with a P wave velocity faster than 8.3 km/s. VP/VS ratios derived from P and S wave velocities generally range from 1.75 to 1.80 in the crust and upper mantle, while the ratios in the high velocity zone within the plate are less than 1.75. These results suggest that the plate is composed of two layers: the first layer is a low-velocity and high-VP/VS zone with a thickness less than 20 km, and the second layer is a thick high-velocity and low VP/VS zone. The estimated plate thickness is about 90 km in the Kurile arc and about 110 km in the northeastern Japan arc.The relocated hypocenter distribution beneath Hokkaido clearly shows the double seismic plane in the subducting plate. The upper seismic plane is located in the first Received April 27, 1994; Accepted October 5, 1994 * To whom correspondence should be addressed . ** Present address: Faculty of Science , Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812, Japan. layer with a low velocity and the lower seismic plane is in the second layer with a high velocity. The seismic activity in the upper seismic plane is high in the depth range from 60 to 90 km, while that in the lower seismic plane is high at depths deeper than 100 km. The double seismic plane joins at depths from 90 to 130 km.

Geomagnetic Transfer Functions in Japan Obtained by First Order Geomagnetic Survey.

“…13) show that the current along the Tsugaru Strait is small at longer periods. In this region, the depth of the Moho discontinuity is about 35 km and the plate boundary is deeper than 100 km (Miyamachi et al,1993). In Tohoku and Chubu districts, low resistivity layers exist between the Conrad discontinuity and the Moho discontinuity beneath around the Volcanic Front (e.g.…”

A Method for Determination of the Three-Dimensional Seismic Velocity Structure from Local Earthquake Data.

“…This suggests that the present method may be useful for estimation of a velocity structure beneath a region without sufficient knowledge about the configuration of velocity boundaries. The adoption of the realistic combination of the earthquakes and stations in the experiment will also help to inspect a resolution of the solutions obtained by the inversion in the actual data, which will be presented in Miyamachi et al (1994).…”

“…In such a case, the application of the present method following the "block" or "grid" inversion can successfully reveal the reliable velocity structure with the depth distributions of the seismic boundaries. Miyamachi et al (1994) will show the velocity structure beneath northern Japan estimated by applying the present inverse method to the actual local earthquake data.…”

“…In calculation of artificial P and S wave arrival time data under the velocity model, we apply an actual combination of stations and earthquakes used in Miyamachi et al (1994) to the calculation. The locations of 48 stations are shown in Fig.…”

“…3. Because S wave data at 12 stations, which are marked with double circles in the figure, are not available for an actual analysis in Miyamachi et al (1994), we do not produce the artificial S wave data at these stations. Figure 6 shows epicenters of the 348 earthquakes used: 67 earthquakes located in the crust mainly beneath Hokkaido, 83 earthquakes in the upper mantle along the side of the Pacific Ocean in Hokkaido, and 198 earthquakes at depths less than 240 km which are widely distributed in the subducted plate beneath Hokkaido and the northern part of the Tohoku region.…”