Studies of the Georesistivity Structure in the Central Part of the Northeastern Japan Arc

Abstract

Wideband magnetotelluric measurements were conducted along three traverses in the central Tohoku district of the northeastern Japan arc. These data provide independent constraints for understanding seismo-tectonics and geology where the Pacific plate subducts beneath the Eurasian plate. Smooth two-dimensional models of the data acquired along the three transects were obtained using the Generalized Rapid Relaxation Inversion algorithm. Modeling suggest that the area can be reasonably treated as two-dimensional with the structural direction being north-south in agreement with the strikes of geological units. The three 2-D models correlate well with the regional geological morphology in the central part of the Tohoku district which is divided by three high altitude regions. The resistivity profiles indicate two clear conductive anomalies in the Central Basin Range and in the Kitakami, Abukuma river regions that show considerable variability in each of the three 2-D models. Boundaries of conductive bodies correlate well with mapped faults, including those of pre-Tertiary age. The northernmost cross section is more complex possibly because of the presence of Quaternary volcanoes and an active geothermal source area in the vicinity.