Dynamic Overshoot Near Trench Caused by Large Asperity Break at Depth

In an attempt to explain the large shallow slip that occurred near the trench during the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake, numerical simulations of earthquake dynamic rupture were carried out using a fault model with a subduction interface containing a bump-shaped asperity, which might result from subduction of an old submarine volcano or seamount. It was assumed that during the interseismic period, slip only occurs outside the bump area and that stress accumulates inside the bump, creating a seismogenic asperity. We roughly evaluated the amount of slip outside the bump during the interseismic period, assuming a constant long-term subduction rate. Then we could estimate the accumulated stress inside the bump. We constructed the initial stress distribution based on the stress change caused by the slip-deficit distribution. A constitutive relation was constructed based on a slip-weakening friction law and was used to compute spontaneous ruptures. The results indicate that a large slip can occur between the trench and the bump, even though a very small amount of stress is accumulated there before the rupture. This is due to an interaction between the free surface and the fault that causes slip overshoot. On the region of the fault below the bump, such overshoot cannot occur because the fault is pinned by the deeper un-slipped zone. However, on the shallower side, the edge of the fault becomes free when the rupture approaches the free surface. In this region, such a large slip can occur without releasing a large amount of stress.