An application of numerical simulation techniques to improve the resolution of offshore fault kinematics using seafloor geodetic methods

Abstract

Geodetic measurements reveal a number of tectonic phenomena, such as coseismic and postseismic displacements of earthquakes and interplate coupling on plate interfaces. However, since geodetic measurements are limited to land, slip distribution is poorly resolved offshore, though well constrained in the landward areas. Due to the poverty of offshore data, tectonic motion near trench axes has not been measured. Seafloor geodetic observations provide important information on offshore tectonics. Improved offshore resolution would allow determination of strain accumulation and release processes near trench axes. In this study, using numerical simulation, we discuss the potential for improvement of slip resolution in an offshore area using seafloor geodetic measurements. The plate interface along the Nankai trough is modeled by 36 planar fault segments, whose length and width, respectively, are set to 60 km and 50 km. Three hundred and seventy-five GPS observation sites on land and 10 seafloor sites aligned 60 km off the coast are used for the simulation. We carry out a checkerboard test and compare the estimated slip pattern with the given checkerboard pattern. Models that do not include seafloor sites generate large discrepancies in offshore deformation between the initial and estimated slip patterns, although there are similarities in coastal regions. This indicates poor resolution in offshore areas. When we apply our model to include seafloor sites, the difference between the initial and estimated slip patterns decreases for most of the modeled fault segments. Comparison between these two cases suggests the potential for use of seafloor geodetic techniques to improve offshore resolution.