On the trail of the massive 2011 earthquake

04.12.2024 10:45

News/various scientific publications, research projects

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Scientific drill ship CHIKYU. Image: jamstick | Quelle: jamstick | Copyright: Image: JAMSTEC | download

What was the cause of the Great Tohoku Earthquake of 2011, and how can we better understand geological processes in order to protect coastal infrastructure in the long term – for example, from a tsunami like the one that occurred 13 years ago? These questions are currently the focus of a scientific expedition as part of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP), in which researchers from the MARUM Center for Marine Environmental Science at the University of Bremen are participating.

From the beginning of September until December 20 of this year, a team of international researchers has been sailing aboard the Japanese research drill ship CHIKYU to get to the bottom of the causes of the Great Tohoku Earthquake of 2011 through deep-sea drilling.

This is the second expedition to this region. Just 13 months after the earthquake, during the IODP Expedition 343 “Japan Trench Fast Drilling Project” (JFAST) in 2012, researchers drilled across the plate boundary. The recovered core showed a striking shift at the plate boundary, a subduction zone where the Pacific plate subducts beneath the Eurasian plate. The installed temperature observatory showed a sign of frictional heat generated by the earthquake.

Twelve years after the first IODP expedition into the Japan Trench, IODP Expedition 405's goal is now to determine the properties, processes and conditions within subduction zones – and how these have changed since JFAST. These promote strong sliding in trenches and can contribute to the formation of large tsunamis. During the expedition, physical data from wells will be recorded, samples will be taken and analyzed on board CHIKYU and observatories will be installed.

The researchers were divided into two teams, each living and working on Chikyo for about two months. Each scientist has a specific role on board in the so-called core flow and in the upcoming investigations and analyses. For the first half of the expedition, MARUM's Dr. Matt Ekari was on board as leader of a team of physicochemical specialists. His team is interested in geophysical measurement of drill core samples. This includes water content, porosity, thermal conductivity, elastic wave speed, and shear strength.

MARUM scientist Dr. Junli Zhang is currently aboard CHIKYU on the second leg of the journey. He is part of the geochemistry team, which takes samples, performs geochemical measurements, analyzes data, and contributes to reporting, as do all the researchers on board.

As is usual in IODP missions, the drill cores are analyzed and sampled according to specific criteria, and the same applies to the data, which is then made available to all expedition participants, and later to the entire scientific community.

In addition, researchers pursue their own research questions, which they also want to answer using the samples and data obtained. “After the expedition, in collaboration with other members of the scientific team and a few external partners, I plan to perform geotechnical laboratory measurements on the recovered cores, with the important aspect of maintaining the condition of the recovered rock/sediment to be the same as it was in the ground. In this way, “We can get a more precise view of how the faults that produce huge earthquakes actually move,” explains Matt Ikari.

Junlei Zhang will focus on pore pressure and fluid flow processes in the subduction zone of the Japan Trench, as well as interactions between water and rock, in his post-trip research. Speaking about his experience aboard CHIKYU so far, he said: “The expedition went very smoothly. When I came on board, we were continuing drilling. In the first few days, I went through a quick handover and received extensive training on base flow, sampling methods, geochemical measurements, among others. This was very helpful and allowed me to quickly settle into my duties.

Background information about the expedition: The expedition is conducted by the Japan Marine-Earth Science and Technology Agency (JAMSTEC). It includes 56 scientists from ten countries who will work aboard CHIKYU in two exploration phases. The mission aims to answer the following scientific questions: (1) The current state of pressure accumulation around the fault zone more than ten years after the earthquake (2) The structure of the fault causing the earthquake, its physical properties, and the factors controlling sliding behavior. (3) Effects of fluids on the stress state around the crack zone.

More information: Mission website: https://www.jamstec.go.jp/chikyu/e/exp405/index.html and background: https://youtu.be/noEBFf2x7xU JAMSTEC press release: https://www. jamstec .go.jp/e/about/press_release/20240829_2/ Article about the expedition in “Japan Forward”: https://japan-forward.com/aboard-the-chikyu-searching-for-new-earthquake-clues-deep-in-the-japan-trench/ J-FAST flight information: https://www. jamstec.go.jp/chikyu/e/exp343/expedition.html Press release for the MARUM Japan Trench Expedition 2012: https://www.marum.de/en/Uncovering-the-Traces-of-the-Great-Tohoku -Earthquake.html

Wissenschaftlicher Ansprechpartner: Dr. Matt Ikari Marum – Center for Marine Environmental Science, University of Bremen, Experimental Geomechanics, Email: mikari@marum.deInfos: https://www.marum.de/Dr.-matt-ikari.htmlDr. Junli Zhangmarum – Center for Marine Environmental Science, University of Bremen, Experimental Geomechanics, Email: jzhang@marum.deInfos: https://www.marum.de/en/Dr.-junli-zhang.html

More information: https://www.marum.de/en/JTrackExp405.html MARUM-press release https://www.jamstec.go.jp/chikyu/e/exp405/index.html Mission website https:// www.jamstec .go.jp/e/about/press_release/20240829_2/ JAMSTEC Press Version: https://japan-forward.com/aboard-the-chikyu-searching-for-new-earthquake-clues-deep-in-the-japan-trench/ Article about the expedition in “Japan Forward”

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