Co-seismic surface ruptures produced by the 2014 Mw 6.2 Nagano earthquake, along the Itoigawa–Shizuoka tectonic line, central Japan

Abstract

Field investigations reveal that the Mj 6.8 (Mw 6.2) Nagano (Japan) earthquake of 22 November 2014 produced a 9.3-km-long co-seismic surface rupture zone. The slip occurred on the pre-existing active Kamishiro Fault, which developed along the Itoigawa–Shizuoka tectonic line, and is inferred as the boundary between the Eurasian and North American plates. The surface-rupturing earthquake produced dominant thrusting and subordinate strike-slip displacement. Structures that developed during the co-seismic surface rupture include thrust faults, fault scarps, en-echelon tension cracks, folding structures such as mole tracks and flexural folds, and sand-boils. The surface displacements measured in the field range from several centimeters to 1.5 m in the vertical (typically, 0.4–1 m), accompanied by a strike-slip component that reached 0.6 m along NNE trending ruptures. These observations indicate a thrust-dominated displacement along the seismogenic fault. Our results show that (i) the pre-existing Kamishiro Fault, which strikes NNE–SSW, controlled the spatial distribution of co-seismic surface ruptures and displacements; and (ii) the style and magnitude of thrust displacements indicate that the present-day shortening strain on the Eurasian–North American plate boundary in the study area is released mainly by seismic thrust displacements along the active Kamishiro Fault.