Source rupture process of the M W 6.2 earthquake in the Noto Peninsula, central Japan, on May 5, 2023

Abstract An M JMA 6.5 crustal earthquake occurred during earthquake swarm activity around the northeastern tip of the Noto Peninsula, central Japan, on May 5, 2023. To elucidate the position of this earthquake in the continuing seismic swarm activity, it is necessary to clarify the relationships bet...

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Main Authors: Kimiyuki Asano, Tomotaka Iwata
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SpringerOpen 2025-04-01
Series:Earth, Planets and Space
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s40623-025-02186-w
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author Kimiyuki Asano
Tomotaka Iwata
author_facet Kimiyuki Asano
Tomotaka Iwata
author_sort Kimiyuki Asano
collection DOAJ
description Abstract An M JMA 6.5 crustal earthquake occurred during earthquake swarm activity around the northeastern tip of the Noto Peninsula, central Japan, on May 5, 2023. To elucidate the position of this earthquake in the continuing seismic swarm activity, it is necessary to clarify the relationships between the source rupture process, crustal structure, and the earthquake swarm activity. The kinematic source rupture process of this event was analyzed using strong-motion waveform records observed at strong-motion stations surrounding the source region using the finite source inversion method, incorporating a three-dimensional velocity model in the target area. The rupture propagated mainly in the up-dip direction on a source fault plane dipping southeastward at an angle of 40°. A significant slip with a maximum slip amount of 0.8 m was found in the depth range of 8–11 km, which is approximately 4 km in the up-dip direction from the hypocenter. The slip direction was thrust type, with a small right-lateral strike-slip component. The location of this asperity corresponded to the region of low V P/V S ratio. The total seismic moment was 2.40 × 1018 Nm (M W 6.2). Most slips occurred at depths shallower than those of the preceding seismic activity, which occurred primarily at depths from 10 to 14 km. The seismic activity immediately after this earthquake occurred around the large-slip area, with intensive earthquakes occurring at shallow depths (< 10 km). Active seismic activity in and around the rupture area of the M W 6.2 earthquake on May 5, 2023, continued intensively even after this earthquake, and then the rupture of the 2024 Noto Hanto earthquake (M JMA 7.6) on January 1, 2024, started at the southwestern edge of the asperity of the M W 6.2 earthquake. Therefore, this earthquake can be interpreted as one of turning point in this earthquake swarm activity to connect the preceding swarm in the depth range from 10 to 15 km with seismic activity in shallower depths including the further destructive event. Graphical Abstract
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spelling doaj-art-d97a4de2f43844fa810816793a42e39f2025-08-20T02:30:22ZengSpringerOpenEarth, Planets and Space1880-59812025-04-0177111510.1186/s40623-025-02186-wSource rupture process of the M W 6.2 earthquake in the Noto Peninsula, central Japan, on May 5, 2023Kimiyuki Asano0Tomotaka Iwata1Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto UniversityKyoto UniversityAbstract An M JMA 6.5 crustal earthquake occurred during earthquake swarm activity around the northeastern tip of the Noto Peninsula, central Japan, on May 5, 2023. To elucidate the position of this earthquake in the continuing seismic swarm activity, it is necessary to clarify the relationships between the source rupture process, crustal structure, and the earthquake swarm activity. The kinematic source rupture process of this event was analyzed using strong-motion waveform records observed at strong-motion stations surrounding the source region using the finite source inversion method, incorporating a three-dimensional velocity model in the target area. The rupture propagated mainly in the up-dip direction on a source fault plane dipping southeastward at an angle of 40°. A significant slip with a maximum slip amount of 0.8 m was found in the depth range of 8–11 km, which is approximately 4 km in the up-dip direction from the hypocenter. The slip direction was thrust type, with a small right-lateral strike-slip component. The location of this asperity corresponded to the region of low V P/V S ratio. The total seismic moment was 2.40 × 1018 Nm (M W 6.2). Most slips occurred at depths shallower than those of the preceding seismic activity, which occurred primarily at depths from 10 to 14 km. The seismic activity immediately after this earthquake occurred around the large-slip area, with intensive earthquakes occurring at shallow depths (< 10 km). Active seismic activity in and around the rupture area of the M W 6.2 earthquake on May 5, 2023, continued intensively even after this earthquake, and then the rupture of the 2024 Noto Hanto earthquake (M JMA 7.6) on January 1, 2024, started at the southwestern edge of the asperity of the M W 6.2 earthquake. Therefore, this earthquake can be interpreted as one of turning point in this earthquake swarm activity to connect the preceding swarm in the depth range from 10 to 15 km with seismic activity in shallower depths including the further destructive event. Graphical Abstracthttps://doi.org/10.1186/s40623-025-02186-w2023 Noto Peninsula earthquakeSource rupture processKinematic source inversionStrong motion dataEarthquake swarm
spellingShingle Kimiyuki Asano
Tomotaka Iwata
Source rupture process of the M W 6.2 earthquake in the Noto Peninsula, central Japan, on May 5, 2023
Earth, Planets and Space
2023 Noto Peninsula earthquake
Source rupture process
Kinematic source inversion
Strong motion data
Earthquake swarm
title Source rupture process of the M W 6.2 earthquake in the Noto Peninsula, central Japan, on May 5, 2023
title_full Source rupture process of the M W 6.2 earthquake in the Noto Peninsula, central Japan, on May 5, 2023
title_fullStr Source rupture process of the M W 6.2 earthquake in the Noto Peninsula, central Japan, on May 5, 2023
title_full_unstemmed Source rupture process of the M W 6.2 earthquake in the Noto Peninsula, central Japan, on May 5, 2023
title_short Source rupture process of the M W 6.2 earthquake in the Noto Peninsula, central Japan, on May 5, 2023
title_sort source rupture process of the m w 6 2 earthquake in the noto peninsula central japan on may 5 2023
topic 2023 Noto Peninsula earthquake
Source rupture process
Kinematic source inversion
Strong motion data
Earthquake swarm
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s40623-025-02186-w
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