Earthquake Research Institute, The University of Tokyo

The mission

of the Earthquake

Research Institute is to listen to the Earth's faint murmurs and occasional violent outbursts, try to make sense of them and develop theory to understand the Earth better through dialogue with it. We apply our knowledge towards the prediction, prevention and mitigation of disasters caused by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

Earthquake Research Institute

Science of seismic shaking

Using a supercomputer, we reproduce and predict violent shaking caused by major earthquakes (strong motion) to contribute to disaster prevention and mitigation. With the help of computer simulations, we are now waking up to the fact that the kind of slow shaking (long-period earthquake motion) generated by a future Tokai Earthquake, Tonankai Earthquake, etc. is likely to converge on and concentrate in central Tokyo, shaking super high-rise buildings and other large structures for a long period of time.

Deployment of ocean bottom seismometer

Underwater freefall at about 1.5 m/s

2 cm/s P S R TKY020 100 s Feeding a computer with an earthquake fault model and Seafloor

underground structure data allow the calculation of shaking at any given point by solving the relevant equations of motion.

tLook how shaking generated by the Mid Niigata

Earthquakes

Prefecture Earthquake in 2004 (M6.8) became concentrated in the central part of Tokyo. The orange and yellow arrows show the direction of the shaking and the propagation of the seismic wave, respectively.

The world's most high-pe

ENTIRE EARTH
The Earth was born 4.6 billion years ago and has given birth to humans in its most recent history. The hot core of the Earth drives the mantle and crust, causing earthquakes and volcanic eruptions in the process. These dynamics are the subject of our research. Here, we explain some of our recent research topics.

The subject of our research is

THE

pop-up type ocean bottom sei which was developed in-hou ERI. It is capable of making ob of broadband seismic waves seafloor for more than a year.

Observations on the seafloor

Recovery of ocean bottom seismometer

Surfacing ocean bottom seismometer

Earthquake "sweet spots"

discovery of asperities
Under the coastal waters off Sanriku in the Tohoku region, earthquakes occur repeatedly as an oceanic plate* subducts beneath a continental plate. The analysis of the shapes of seismic waves has revealed that during an earthquake, the slipping of tectonic plates occurs more rapidly in certain regions, called "asperities**", rather than uniformly across the plate interface. This important discovery may lead to reliable earthquake prediction, because the locations of asperities appear to be the same each time.
*Plate :There are two types of plates, continental and oceanic, both consisting of crust and the top layer of the mantle. **Asperity:A bump on the surface of a fault. Because friction is high on asperities, they are locations where two plates are stuck together. However, if the force generated by the subduction of the oceanic plate becomes too great, sudden and rapid slip occurs on the asperity.

Controlled source

Underwater sound transducer Detachment command

Distance measurement

Continental plate

Underwater sound transducer

Self-surfacing at about 1 m/s

Earthquake

Chasing sources of earthquakes on the deep seafloor

development and operation of ocean bottom seismometers

Many mega earthquakes occur undersea, so landbased observations alone are not enough to study submarine earthquakes in detail. The ERI conducts research geared towards predicting the occurrence of mega earthquakes by developing and operating pop-up type ocean bottom seismometers suited to deployment on deep seafloors up to 6000m below the surface, a submarine earthquakes observation system based on a submarine optical cable, and other equipment.
A A A

tThe asperity concept

B C C

B C

erformance smometer, use at the bservations s from the

1968 Tokachi-Oki Earthquake (M 7.9)

1989 Sanriku-Oki Earthquake (M 7.1)

1994 Sanriku-Haruka-Oki Earthquake (M 7.6)

helps us understand even complex undersea earthquakes, such as Sanriku Oki earthquake. If slipping occurs on all three asperities, A, B and C, a magnitude 8class mega earthquake results. Slip on just one of them gives rise to a magnitude 7-class major earthquake.

Crust Upper mantle Stagnating tectonic plate Tectonic plate

Lower mantle

Mantle plume

Sunken tectonic plate

Core

Asperity Sticking tightly to continental plate Rapid slip during an earthquake

Volcanoes
Chasing elusive magma
By setting up a volcanic observation network consisting of seismic, geodetic, electromagnetic and other instruments on Mt. Asama, Izu Oshima Volcano, Mt. Fuji, Miyake-jima Volcano, and other volcanoes, we monitor the distribution of magma towards elucidating the volcanic eruption mechanism. At the Fugen peak of Mt. Unzen, we have drilled into the mountain in search of magma, under an international joint research project. In recent years, we have been engaging in the monitoring of East Asian volcanoes using satellite infrared images and volcanic interior imaging experiments based on cosmic rays (muons).
sUnzen Scientific Drilling Project (1999-2005)

Oceanic plate

Silent earthquakes occur in areas adjacent to asperities

Generating earthquakes in a lab

The underground rock failure process (= earthquake) cannot be observed directly. For this reason, the high-temperature high-pressure environment prevalent 20km deep is reproduced in a laboratory, with experiments designed to study how the strength of rock changes at depth.

Conjectured 3-D image of interior of Mt. Unzen

Rock failure testing apparatus

Fractured rock specimen

Stagnation of a subducting tectonic plate under the Japanese archipelago Does it keep falling until it reaches the boundary between the mantle and core?

Earths Interior
tThe velocity structure of the Earth's interior as

derived from an analysis of seismic waves. The blue color indicates a high seismic wave velocity region, which is colder than the surrounding area.

Peeping into the Earth from the ocean hemisphere

Can an oceanic plate stop sinking?
In the ocean hemisphere, we set up an observation network consisting of ocean bottom seismometers, ocean bottom electro-magnetometers and other instruments to elucidate the internal structure and movement of the Earth. By recording the seismic waves and creating images of the velocity, density, and temperature of the Earth, we have discovered that the oceanic plate subducting into the mantle from an ocean trench somehow stops moving at a depth of 400-660 km and stagnates. Called the "stagnant slab", this phenomenon played the crucial role in "sinking Japan" in the Japanese scifi film Japan Sinks, which was released in 2006.

tA conceptual image of

the ocean hemisphere observation network

PEOPLE Are Our Most

The ERI forms the core of earth's research, which brings together experts from a wide range of disciplines.

Valuable Assets

A Message to Young People

The Earthquake Research Institute (ERI) was established in 1925, two years after the Great Kanto Earthquake struck. When the ERI celebrated its 10th anniversary, Torahiko Terada*, a physicist, an essayist and an ERI researcher, commented as follows: "The eternal mission of the ERI is scientific research of various phenomena associated with earthquakes and exploration of measures to prevent and reduce disasters attributed directly or indirectly to earthquakes." Eighty odd years have passed since foundation of the ERI, but this spirit is still alive and well. The ERI employs over 80 top-notch academics (professors, associate professors and research associates) drawn from diverse fields, ranging from seismology and volcanology to geophysics, geochemistry, geology, geodesy, applied mathematics, information science, civil engineering and seismic engineering. Together with a 50- support staff, 30 visiting researchers and 70 graduate students, we engage in cutting-edge research and technique development, including field observations, experiments, theoretical studies, analyses and computer simulations. We are confident that you can find something that interests you from the lineup of our cutting-edge research themes and techniques. We welcome those of you who take an interest in earthquakes, volcanoes and other earth-related phenomena and are enthusiastic about making new discoveries.
*Torahiko Terada (1878-1935): A favorite student of novelist Soseki Natshume and the model of Kangetsu Mizushima, a university graduate character appearing in his novel "I Am a Cat". He is said to have been the author of the following epigram: "A national disaster strikes when people forget about the last one."

A Message from a Young Researcher Shinichi Miyazaki

Research Associate, Earthquake Prediction Research Center, Earthquake Research Institute

Develop the ability to drive your own research

One of the appeals of earthquake research, I think, is making the invisible visible, which is symbolic of both the difficulty and excitement of this field. In recent years, the information society has made it so simple to access information that any slight difficulty encountered in finding an answer often leads to frustration. But remember it is sometimes absolutely necessary to sit down and take time to answer a question. The harder the problem, the greater the joy in finding a solution. When I was a student, a seismology professor said to us, "Many half geniuses can advance geophysics more than just a handful of real geniuses." As an average person, I would like to go a step further and say, "Researchers do not have to be clever people." Great skills in physics or mathematics of course help, but in my opinion, there is also great value in building upon the course of past research efforts in order to create a new path. I am currently engaged in research aimed at revealing processes deep underground by analyzing crustal movement data obtained through GPS observations. To tell you the truth, becoming an earthquake researcher wasn't my career choice when I was a student. I was interested in outer space, and studied the Aurora in graduate school. After I finished my masters course, I landed a job at the Geographical Survey Institute, and was introduced to GPS, which led me to my current job. I want young people like you to get interested in science in general, not just earthquakes. If you do, I bet it will take you to something new and exciting in time.

ORGANIZATION
Research Divisions

Conduct wide-ranging basic research relating to earthquakes, volcanoes and the Solid Earth.

Division of Earth Mechanics

Focuses on flow and failure processes that occur in the Earth's interior to better understand the physical process that control seismic and volcanic phenomena.

Division of Global Dynamics

Investigates seismic and volcanic phenomena from a global viewpoint.

Division of Monitoring and Computational Geoscience

Engages in observational studies using an absolute gravimeter, synthetic aperture radar, among others, and the development of new technologies including an earth observation instrument based on laser interferometry.

Division of Disaster Mitigation Science

Engages in the investigation and prediction of strong earthquake motions, tsunamis and other phenomena and basic research on seismic technologies, aimed at mitigating such disasters with a dual focus on science and engineering.

Each center pursues a specific mission.

Earthquake Prediction Research Center

Outreach Office
Works to publicize the results of seismic and volcanic activity research and distribute them across society.

Engages in joint research with domestic and overseas partners geared toward earthquake prediction. The Planning Department of Coordination Committee of Earthquake and Volcanic Eruption Predection Research draws up an overall plan for earthquake and eruption prediction research at the universities.

Earthquake Observation Center

Engages in observational research on land earthquakes, undersea earthquakes, crustal movements and the development of new observation techniques.

Director Research Centers

Office of International Earthquake and Volcano Research Promotion
Engages in the planning and coordination of international joint research projects relating to seismic and volcanic activity.

Earthquake Information Center

Collects and supplies observational data as the central hub of the earthquake prediction research information network and engages in the development of an information distribution infrastructure and research on an earthquake disaster mitigation information system.

Volcano Research Center

Engages in observational research aimed at elucidating the basic processes and principles involved in volcanic activity and phenomena that unfold deep inside volcanoes, towards building foundations for volcanic eruption prediction.

Ocean Hemisphere Research Center

Deploys observation instruments developed in-house in the ocean hemisphere, which is an observational blind zone, and engages in observational research aimed at elucidating the movements of the mantle and core and their driving forces.

Yatsugatake Geo-electromagnetic Observatory

Engages in geomagnetism observation as the reference observation station in the Tokai-Koshinetsu region and research on electromagnetic phenomena relating to crustal activity.

Technical Supporting Sections

Provide technical support for observational and experimental research conducted within the ERI.

Administration Division
Library

Earthquake Research Institute, The University of Tokyo

1-1-1, Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0032, JAPAN TEL: +81-3-5841-5666 FAX: +81-3-3816-1159 http://www.eri.u-tokyo.ac.jp/ If you have any questions about this pamphlet, please feel free to contact the Outreach Office. outreach@eri.u-tokyo.ac.jp

Published April 2007 This pamphlet has been created from recycled paper and soybean ink.