Development and application of an advanced ocean floor network system for megathrust earthquakes and tsunamis

Abstract

Japan is prone to great earthquakes because of its position near two different subduction zones. The Philippine Sea plate subducts from the southeast, and the Pacific plate subducts from the east. The former was the source of a series of great earthquakes, of which the Tonankai earthquake of 1944 and the Nankaido earthquake of 1946 are the latest events. The latter was the source of the 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku (Tohoku earthquake) of 11 March 2011 (M9).