Double-planed deep seismic zone and upper-mantle structure in the Northeastern Japan Arc

Abstract

The ScSp wave converted from the ScS wave at the boundary between the descending lithospheric slab and the mantle above it was clearly observed from a nearby deep earthquake with magnitude 7.7 at some stations of the seismic network of Tohoku University which covers the Tohoku District, the northeastern part of Honshu, Japan. By applying the threedimensional seismic-ray tracing method, the location of this boundary was determined from the difference in arrival time between the ScS and ScSp waves. The result shows that the upper boundary of the descending slab lies exactly on the upper plane of the double-planed deep seismic zone found in the Northeastern Japan Arc.