Tectonic evolution and deep to shallow geometry of Nagamachi-Rifu active fault system, NE Japan

The Nagamachi-Rifu fault is an active reverse fault which trends NE-SW across the central part of Sendai City for over 21 km distance. The fault does not emerge at the surface and, accompanied with the Dainenji-yama fault, shows wedge thrusting in the Tertiary sediments. The amount of net slip of the master part of the Nagamachi-Rifu fault is estimated to be one mm/year. Seismic reflection profiles across the fault plus a gravity anomaly reveal the thicker Neogene sediments on the hanging wall rather than on the footwall. The Neogene sedimentary basin was formed by normal faulting in early Miocene under an extensional stress regime associated with the formation of the northern Honshu rift system. Due to shortening deformation since the Pliocene, this Miocene normal fault reactivated as a reverse fault. Judging from the CMP deep seismic reflection profile and location of the 1998 M5.0 Sendai earthquake, the deep geometry of the Nagamachi-Rifu fault is listric.