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Fluid reservoir in the Hyuga-nada accretionary prism near the Kyushu-Palau ridge: insights from a passive seismic array
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  • Takeshi Akuhara,
  • Yusuke Yamashita,
  • Shukei Ohyanagi,
  • Yasunori Sawaki,
  • Tomoaki Yamada,
  • Masanao Shinohara
Takeshi Akuhara
Earthquake Research Institute, The University of Tokyo

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Yusuke Yamashita
Kyoto University
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Shukei Ohyanagi
Kyoto University
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Yasunori Sawaki
Kyoto University
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Tomoaki Yamada
University of Tokyo
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Masanao Shinohara
University of Tokyo
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Abstract

Shear wave velocity (Vs) estimations of accretionary prisms can pose unique constraints to the physical properties of rocks, which are hard to obtain from compressional velocities (Vp) alone. Thus, it would help better understand the fluid processes of the accretion system. This study investigates the Vs structure of the Hyuga-nada accretionary prism using an array of ocean-bottom seismometers (OBSs) with a 2 km radius. Teleseismic Green’s functions and a surface wave dispersion curve are inverted to one-dimensional Vs structures using transdimensional inversion. The results indicate the presence of a low-velocity zone 3–4 km below the seafloor. The reduced Vs is consistent with a reduced Vp feature obtained in a previous seismic refraction survey. From its high Vp/Vs ratio, we conclude that the low velocities represent high pore fluid pressure. In addition, the resolved lithological boundary exhibits a sharp offset that extends laterally across the OBS array. We attribute this offset to a blind fault below while acknowledging other possibilities, such as due to mud diapirism. The predicted fault is located at the Kyushu–Palau Ridge flank, oriented roughly parallel to the ridge axis, and thus likely caused by ridge subduction. The fracture caused by the ridge subduction may act as a fluid conduit, forming a fluid reservoir beneath the well-compacted sediment layers.
11 Jan 2023Submitted to ESS Open Archive
17 Jan 2023Published in ESS Open Archive
Apr 2023Published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth volume 128 issue 4. 10.1029/2022JB026298