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Seafloor geodetic evidence of slip deficit near the southwestern Kuril Trench

Joint press release (in Japanese) by Tohoku University, Hokkaido University and Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology

Abstract
Understanding near-trench interseismic deformation at subduction zones is crucial for assessing the hazards of giant earthquakes, especially trench-breaking tsunamigenic earthquakes, such as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. However, interseismic locking preceding such trench-breaking tsunamigenic events remain poorly constrained due to the limited sensitivity of onshore geodetic observations. Here, we present seafloor geodetic observations along the southwestern Kuril trench, a region with the potential for large coseismic ruptures reaching the trench, as inferred from historical tsunami records. Our results show high slip-deficit rates near the trench during…

Read more on Communications Earth & Environment

Article Information:
Fumiaki Tomita, Yusaku Ohta, Motoyuki Kido, Mako Ohzono, Hiroaki Takahashi, Ryota Hino, Takeshi Iinuma, Seafloor geodetic evidence of slip deficit near the southwestern Kuril Trench, Communications Earth & Environment, (2026)
DOI:10.1038/s43247-026-03297-2