A large flux of particulate matter in the deep Japan Trench observed just after the 1994 Sanriku-Oki earthquake

Abstract

Three time-series sediment traps were deployed in the Japan Trench at 40°26′N, 144°28′E, from October 1994 to May 1995. The depths were approximately 1, 4.2 and 6.8 km and the water depth was 7150 m. There were large mass fluxes in spring at 1 and 4.2 km depths, whereas increased fluxes appeared from 27 December 1994 to 29 January 1995, at 4.2 and 6.8 km depths. The 1994 Sanriku-Oki earthquake ( M w=7.7) occurred on 28 December 1994, at 40°27′N, 143°43′E, adjacent to the study site. Distinct increases in non-biogenic material were observed at both 4.2 and 6.8 km just after the earthquake; the material seems to have originated from the surface sediments, though differing Mn/Al of particulate materials at the two depths imply a difference in their source areas. Analysis indicates that the main part of the increased particulate fluxes at 6.8 km depth derived from the sediment on the eastern slope of the Japan Trench.