** Progress in Earth and Planetary Science is the official journal of the Japan Geoscience Union, published in collaboration with its 50 society members.
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Solid earth sciences
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Submarine paleoseismology in the Japan Trench of northeastern Japan: turbidite stratigraphy and sedimentology using paleomagnetic and rock magnetic analyses
Toshiya Kanamatsu, Ken Ikehara, Kan-Hsi Hsiung
Historical earthquake, Japan Trench, Turbidite, Paleomagnetic secular variation, Paleo current, Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibili
The turbidite beds corresponding with the huge earthquakes off Tohoku (yellow) and the variations of magnetic susceptibility (blue line). Interpreted flow directions in turbidites (blue arrows), and flow direction of mass transport deposits (arrow of orange line).
Previous studies of sediments recovered from the Japan Trench between 37° 25′ N and 38° 30′ N document distinctive turbidite beds induced by huge earthquakes. We studied two sediment cores at 39°N to investigate the depositional record further north along the Japan Trench. These investigations spatially extend our knowledge of the depositional record of earthquakes in the Japan Trench. We examined specifically the precise stratigraphy of turbidite beds using paleomagnetic secular variation, and a tephra correlation. Additionally, anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) was investigated to understand the depositional conditions of each turbidite bed. The inferred ages of turbidite beds in this study closely approximate their previously reported ages, which are correlated with the historical and prehistorical huge earthquakes off Tohoku, northeastern Japan. The paleo current directions during deposition of turbidite are inferred from their grain alignment based on AMS data. The directions of basal part reveal northeastward in the slope-side basin and north-northeast in oceanward basin. The directions of basal and upper thick muddy part of a turbidite bed are not always consistent, which suggests the hydraulic condition in the narrow elongated deep-sea basin. This fact could be essential information to elucidate a unique hydraulic condition during the turbidite deposition in the confined basin in the Japan Trench.
