How Japan’s devastating 2011 earthquake ‘moved the country further east’

Stay up to date with notifications from The IndependentNotifications can be managed in browser preferences.Jump to contentThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inAllNewsSportCultureLifestyleA new study reveals that minutes after the 2011 magnitude 9 Tohoku-Oki earthquake and tsunami, a previously unrecognised phenomenon may have caused the whole of Japan to shift further eastwards. Researchers re-examined satellite data and found that seismic shear waves travelled through the Earth, bounced off the planet's core, and returned to the surface, reactivating tectonic plate boundaries. This triggered a multiplate-interface slip event, causing Japan to shift by approximately 5-6mm, an amount of ground movement common after large earthquakes but notable for its widespread impact. The triggered slip had the broadest rupture area of any single event yet documented, spanning a length similar to mainland Japan and exceeding the mainshock rupture length by 6-7 times. Scientists highlight this as a previously unknown type of seismic hazard, suggesting that significant ground motion can occur many minutes after an earthquake's main shaking has passed. In fullPowerful 2011 Japan earthquake may have moved whole country further eastThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in

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