Randomness of megathrust earthquakes implied by rapid stress recovery after the Japan earthquake
Thursday, February 5, 2015 - 10:30
in Earth & Climate
Stress recovery following the 2011 M9.0 Tohoku-oki earthquake has been significantly faster than previously anticipated; specifically, the stress-state at the plate interface returned within just a few years to levels observed before the megathrust event. In addition, since there is no observable spatial difference in the stress state along the megathrust zone, it is difficult to predict the location and extent of future large ruptures.