Recent development status of the quasi real-time crustal deformation monitoring based on the onshore real-time GNSS data and offshore GNSS/Acoustic measurement in Japan

Abstract:

The 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake and its associated tsunami clearly showed the need for an accurate tsunami early warning system. Real-time GNSS data have an advantage over the short-time seismograms because robust estimations of location and dimension of coseismic faults can be derived from spatial patterns of permanent coseismic displacement measured by real-time GNSS data. Based on these backgrounds, GSI and Tohoku University has been developed the real-time GNSS analysis system. GSI named this system as REGARD (real-time GEONET Analysis for Rapid Deformation Monitoring), which consists three subsystems: (1) Real-time GPS positioning for all of the GEONET site in every one second, (2) automated extraction of displacement fields due to the large earthquake, and (3) automated estimation of Mw by an approximated single rectangular fault or slip distribution in the assumed plated interface. In contrast, lack of the geodetic observation in the offshore region should cause the resolution degrading of the coseismic fault estimation or coseismic slip distribution. In fact, GNSS/Acoustic (GNSS/A) geodetic measurements have revealed the unexpectedly large extent of the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake rupture near the Japan Trench (e.g., Kido et al. 2011). To reveal the earthquake mechanisms and occurrence, as well as co- and post-seismic behaviours, the observation of seafloor crustal deformation in the offshore region is very important. Thus, we are now developing a continuous horizontal and vertical crustal deformation and tsunami observation system based on the moored buoy by a slack cable. This system measures the horizontal and vertical coseismic displacement just after the large earthquake deduced from GNSS/Acoustic measurement and ocean bottom pressure measurement, respectively (Takahashi et al., 2014, 2015). We will introduce the current development status of the quasi real-time crustal deformation monitoring deduced from these onshore and offshore systems based on the assessment of the actual acquired data.