Skip to main content

Seismic structure of the subducting seamounts on the trench axis: Erimo Seamount and Daiichi-Kashima Seamount, northern and southern ends of the Japan Trench

Abstract

We present detailed P-wave velocity models of subducting seamounts from two wide-angle seismic experiments across the Erimo Seamount and Daiichi-Kashima Seamount, northern and southern ends of the Japan Trench. Common characteristics of the velocity models of the seamounts are that the maximum crustal thicknesses of the seamounts are 12–17 km thicker than a typical oceanic crust and that Pn velocities beneath the seamounts are approximately 7.7 km/s, i.e., slower then those of the neighboring area. These features are very similar to the crustal models for the seamounts produced by the Cretaceous off-ridge volcanism on the Pacific Basin.

References

  • Fujie, G., J. Kasahara, T. Sato, and K. Mochizuki, Traveltime and raypath computation: A new method in a heterogeneous medium, J. Soc. Explor. Geophys. Jpn., 53, 1–11, 2000.

    Google Scholar 

  • Husen, S., E. Kissling, and R. Quintero, Tomographic evidence for a subducting seamount beneath the Gulf of Nicoya, Costa Rica: The cause of the 1990 Mw=7.0 Gulf of Nicoya earthquake, Geophys. Res. Lett., 29, 10.1029/2001GL014045, 2002.

  • Kaneda, K., S. Kodaira, N. Takahashi, and A. Nishizawa, Velocity structure model of Marcus-Wake seamounts group: seamount formation on the oceanic seafloor, Abstr. Seismol. Soc. Jpn., C32-02, 2007a.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaneda, K., A. Nishizawa, A. Kamimura, and J. Kasahara, Seismic velocity structure model of seamounts around Minami-Tori Shima: a structural variation of uppermost mantle beneath seamounts, Abstr. Seismol. Soc. Jpn., 2007b.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kasahara, J. et al., A new integrated method for the crustal structure analysis using OBSs and control sources, Eos Trans. AGU, 88(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract S12A-06, 2007.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kodaira, S., E. Kurashimo, J.-O. Park, N. Takahashi, A. Nakanishi, S. Miura, T. Iwasaki, N. Hirata, K. Ito, and Y. Kaneda, Structural factors controlling the rupture process of a megathrust earthquake at the Nankai trough seismogenic zone, Geophys. J. Int., 149, 815–835, 2002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Korenaga, J., W. S. Holbrook, G. M. Kent, P. B. Kelemen, R. S. Detrick, H.-C. Larsen, J. R. Hopper, and T. Dahl-Jensen, Crustal structure of the southeast Greenland margin from joint refraction and reflection seismic tomography, J. Geophys. Res., 105, 21591–21614, 10.1029/2000JB900188, 2000.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kubota, R., E. Nishiyama, K. Murase, and J. Kasahara, Fast computation algorithm of ray-paths and their travel times including later arrivals for a multi-layered earth model, Eos Trans. AGU, 86(52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract S41A-0966, 2005.

    Google Scholar 

  • Larsen, S. C. and C. A. Schultz, ELAS3D: 2D/3D elastic finite-difference wave propagation code, LLNL internal report, 18 p., 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mochizuki, K., T. Yamada, M. Shinohara, Y. Yamanaka, and T. Kanazawa, Weal inerplate coupling by seamounts and repeating M≈7 earthquakes, Science, 321, 1194–1197, 2008.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nishizawa, A., K. Kaneda, Y. Katagiri, and J. Kasahara, Variation in crustal structure along the Kyushu-Palau Ridge at 15–21°N on the Philippine Sea plate based on seismic refraction profiles, Earth Planets Space, 59, e17–e20, 2007.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Obara, K., Y. Haryu, Y. Ito, and K. Shiomi, Low frequency events occurred during the sequence of aftershock activity of the 2003 Tokachi-Oki earthquake; a dynamic process of the tectonic erosion by subducted seamount, Earth Planets Space, 56, 347–351, 2004.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oshida, A., R. Kubota, E. Nishiyama, J. Ando, J. Kasahara, A. Nishizawa, and K. Kaneda, A new method for determining OBS positions for crustal structure studies, using airgun shots and precise bathymetric data, Explor. Geophys., 39, 15–25, 2008; Butsuri-Tansa, 61, 15–25, 2008; Mulli-Tamsa, 11, 15–25, 2008.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suganomata, J., T. Okada, A. Hasegawa, K. Sakoda, and S. H. Kirby, Relocation of intermediate-depth earthquakes beneath the NE Japan arc by double-difference location method, Zisin (J. Seismol. Soc. Jpn.), 59, 1–18, 2006.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Takigami, Y., I. Kaneoka, T. Ishii, and Y. Nakamura, 40Ar−39Ar ages of igneous rocks recovered from Daiichi-Kashima and Erimo Seamounts during the KAIKO Project, Palaeo-geograp. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoeco., 71, 71–81, 1989.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wessel, P. and W. H. F. Smith, New, improved version of the Generic Mapping Tools released, EOS. Trans. AGU, 79, 579, 1998.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yamazaki, T. and Y. Okamura, Subducting seamounts and deformation of overriding forearc wedges around Japan, Tectonophysics, 160, 207–229, 1989.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Azusa Nishizawa.

Rights and permissions

Open Access  This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made.

The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.

To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Nishizawa, A., Kaneda, K., Watanabe, N. et al. Seismic structure of the subducting seamounts on the trench axis: Erimo Seamount and Daiichi-Kashima Seamount, northern and southern ends of the Japan Trench. Earth Planet Sp 61, e5–e8 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03352912

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03352912

Key words