Stress Transfer and Migration of Earthquakes from the Western Pacific Subduction Zone Toward the Asian Continent

In this paper, we explore the Western Pacific subduction impact on the geodynamics of the Asian continent. The data on migration of slow strain and earthquakes from the Nankai, Japan and Kuril-Kamchatka segments of the Western Pacific subduction zone deep into mainland Asia are analyzed. The calculations performed on five profiles, crossing the Kuril Islands, the Japanese Archipelago and Sakhalin Island toward the Asian continent, have revealed the transverse migration of earthquakes from the Japan-Kuril-Kamchatka subduction zone. The velocities of hypocenter migration of M >= 4.5 earthquakes from the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench via northern and central Sakhalin vary from 6 to 17 km/year, on average, at different depths. The profiles crossing the islands of Hokkaido and Sakhalin show the M >= 4.earthquake migration from the Kuril and Japan trenches at velocities of 8-27 km/year.

Automated summary

This paper explores the impact of Western Pacific subduction on the geodynamics of the Asian continent. The data on migration of slow strain and earthquakes from the Western Pacific subduction zone are analyzed, and the velocities of earthquake migration are calculated for different profiles.