The Kuril subduction zone at the northwest Pacific Ocean margin is the plate boundary where the Pacific plate is rapidly underthrusting the North American plate. Great Mw=8.3 November 15, 2006 Kuril earthquake ruptured one of the most conspicuous gaps in the subduction-zone seismic activity; it occurred on the 600-km long Kuril arc segment with not a single great earthquake for about a century. In the same time interval, the segments to the north (Kamchatka) and south (the southern Kurils and Hokkaido) exhibited several great earthquakes. This Small Grant for Exploratory Research addresses a unique opportunity to resolve and analyze coseismic stress drop, afterslip, and viscous relaxation following this recent earthquake. This SGER proposal focuses on making in May 2007 the critical time-sensitive observations that will enable the studies of this earthquake and its consequences. The proposed project addresses several important questions that arise in connection with this event. How much of the strain built up from the subduction of the Pacific plate beneath the North American plate (or the Okhotsk plate) has been released on November 15, 2006 coseismically and postseismically? What is the danger of further great earthquakes accompanied by Pacific-wide tsunamis in the central and northern Kurils?

The research relies on a combination of continuous GPS (CGPS) stations over the Kuril arc established several months before the November 15, 2006 earthquake and new CGPS stations that the investigators intend to install on the islands nearest to the rupture of the earthquake. To accomplish the goal of the project, the investigators will use a cruise of the ship of NOAA, which shall start in mid-May 2007 from Petropavlovsk, Kamchatka to many Kuril islands.

Broader Impacts include international collaborations with Russian scientists, research that may impact earthquake hazards and important data collection.

Agency
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Institute
Division of Earth Sciences (EAR)
Type
Standard Grant (Standard)
Application #
0715360
Program Officer
Eva E. Zanzerkia
Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
2007-03-15
Budget End
2008-02-29
Support Year
Fiscal Year
2007
Total Cost
$38,973
Indirect Cost
Name
Columbia University
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
New York
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
10027