Impact of the offshore seismograph network and 3-D seismic velocity
structure model on centroid moment tensor analysis for offshore
earthquakes: Application to the Japan Trench subduction zone
Abstract
Recently, a widespread and densely continuous-recording ocean-bottom
seismograph network has been deployed in the Japan Trench subduction
zone. Utilizing the offshore network data improves azimuthal station
coverage for offshore earthquakes in the Japan Trench subduction zone.
It has a potential to obtain centroid moment tensor (CMT) solutions more
accurately than conventional analyses using onshore networks and a
simple one-dimensional seismic velocity structure model. In this study,
we conducted CMT inversion for subduction zone earthquakes that occurred
between April 1, 2017, and March 31, 2024, with a moment magnitude range
of 5.2–7.0. We used seismograms obtained from both the offshore and
onshore networks. We calculated Green’s functions using a
three-dimensional seismic velocity structure model. Our CMT solutions
with thrust-type mechanisms mostly indicated depths and dip angles
consistent with the plate interface. For earthquakes in the outer-rise
region, our CMT solutions were characterized as normal-fault mechanisms.
The joint use of the offshore and onshore networks reduced the
estimation errors of the CMT solutions compared with the only use of the
onshore network, although the optimal solutions were consistent. The dip
angles for the thrust earthquakes determined by our analysis were more
consistent with the dip angle of the plate boundary than those
determined by conventional CMT analyses. Additionally, we found that the
conventional CMT analysis could introduce a systematic bias in depth and
magnitude determinations. This finding highlights the importance of an
offshore seismograph network and a reliable seismic velocity structure
model for CMT inversions.