Quaternary strike-slip crustal deformation around an active fault based on paleomagnetic analysis: a case study of the Enako fault in central Japan

Abstract

To evaluate cumulative strike-slip deformation around an active fault, we carried out tectonic geomorphic investigations of the active right-lateral strike-slip Enako fault in central Japan and paleomagnetic investigations of the Kamitakara pyroclastic flow deposit (KPFD; 0.6 Ma welded tuff) distributed around the fault. Tectonic geomorphic study revealed that the strike-slip displacement on the fault is ca. 150 m during the past 600 ka. We carried out measurements of paleomagnetic directions and anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) within the pyroclastic flow deposit. Stable primary magnetic directions at each sampling site are well clustered and the AMS fabric is very oblate. We then applied tilt correction of paleomagnetic directions at 15 sites using tilting data obtained by the AMS property and orientations of eutaxitic structures. Within a distance of about 500 m from the fault trace, differential clockwise rotations were detected; the rotation angle is larger for zones closer to the fault. Because of this relation and absence of block boundary faults, a continuous deformation model explains the crustal deformation in the study area. The calculated minimum value of strike-slip displacement associated with this deformation detected within the shear zone is 210 m. The sum of this and offset on the Enako fault is 360 m and the slip rate is estimated at 0.6 mm/year.