Possible shallow slow slip events in Hyuga‐nada, Nankai subduction zone, inferred from migration of very low frequency earthquakes

Abstract

AbstractWe investigated the spatiotemporal evolution of a shallow very low frequency earthquake (sVLFE) swarm linked to the 2009/2010 long‐term slow slip event (SSE) in the Bungo channel, southwestern Japan. Broadband seismograms were analyzed using a cross‐correlation technique to detect sVLFEs having similar waveforms to template sVLFEs, and their relative locations were estimated. The sVLFEs exhibit clear migration over a distance of 150 km along the Nankai trough, similar to nonvolcanic tremors and deep very low frequency earthquakes (dVLFEs) accompanied by short‐term SSEs on the downward extension of the seismogenic zone. This similarity between sVLFEs and dVLFEs suggests that SSEs occur in both deeper and shallower extensions of the seismogenic zone. The analyzed sVLFEs were likely caused by a shallow SSE that occurred from January to March 2010 following the initiation and acceleration of the long‐term SSE. This temporal evolution may be caused by stress interaction between the shallow SSE and the long‐term SSE.