Developing of a next-generation ocean bottom pressure gauge to measure long-period vertical crustal deformation toward the prediction of large earthquakes

Project Gist

Get a novel technique in ocean bottom semiology and geodesy to enable earthquake forecasting!

Keywords

Ocean bottom observation, Bottom pressure, Megathrust earthquake, Slow earthquake, Forecasting

Background and Purpose

Rupture areas of megathrust earthquakes generally lie beneath the ocean. This is true globally. The technology and equipment in seismology and geodesy of the ocean are not developed enough to fully understand the mechanisms of megathrust earthquakes. Thus, we must develop new technology and techniques in ocean bottom seismology and geodesy, particularly for forecasting megathrust earthquakes. To do this, we have created an international science network.

Project Achievements

We hosted two international workshops on ocean bottom seismology and geodesy, one at Kyoto University and one at Columbia University. Four young researchers and graduate school students in total were sent to the US, New Zealand, and France to build this science network and discuss the establishment of future international collaborative research projects. The network was, as a result, successfully formed in these countries.

Future Prospects

For the next five years, we will tackle the development of new instruments to measure ground motion and crustal deformation in the ocean bottom due to both slow and fast megathrust earthquakes. We also attempt to develop novel techniques to detect signals from slow and fast earthquakes in order to understand the physical processes accompanying them and the physical interactions between them.

Joint Research/Academic Institutions Abroad

Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of Washington Seatle, GNS Science, Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris

Principal Investigator