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Science 21 August 1998:
Vol. 281. no. 5380, pp. 1175 - 1178
DOI: 10.1126/science.281.5380.1175
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Reports

Variation of Interplate Fault Zone Properties with Depth in the Japan Subduction Zone

Susan L. Bilek, * Thorne Lay

The depth dependence of physical properties along the Japan subduction zone interface was explored using teleseismic recordings of earthquake signals. Broadband body waves were inverted to determine the duration of rupture and source depth for 40 interplate thrust earthquakes located offshore of Honshu between 1989 and 1995. After scaling for differences in seismic moment, there is a systematic decrease in rupture duration with increasing depth along the subducting plate interface. This indicates increases in rupture velocity or stress drop with depth, likely related to variation in rigidity of sediments on the megathrust.

Institute of Tectonics and Earth Sciences Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA.
*   To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: sbilek{at}es.ucsc.edu

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Earthquake Source Fault Beneath Tokyo.
H. Sato, N. Hirata, K. Koketsu, D. Okaya, S. Abe, R. Kobayashi, M. Matsubara, T. Iwasaki, T. Ito, T. Ikawa, et al. (2005)
Science 309, 462-464
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