Japan's Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami

摘要: The magnitude 9.0 Tohoku or Sendai Earthquake (Fig. 1) struck just off the northeast coast of Honshu, Japan on 11 March 2011 making it fourth largest earthquake to be recorded since 1900, and Japanese modern seismometers were developed 130 years ago. Despite being much more powerful than had been expected from subduction zone east preparedness resulted in relatively little damage—despite protracted shaking with ground accelerations up three times that gravity. However, was resulting 10–15 metre high tsunami waves wreaked havoc along coastal plain, a death toll tens thousands an on-going drama at Fukushima I nuclear power plant. Modern seismology has its origins analyses 1906 San Francisco 1923 Great Kanto earthquakes. (or ‘northeast’) looks set similarly significantly advance our understanding earthquakes tsunamis due unprecedented volume seismic, GPS, tide gauge video data available. There is information gained how large rupture, buildings behave under prolonged severe propagate. Figure 1. Tohoku global displacement wavefield IRIS. http://www.iris.edu/hq/files/iris_news/images/Sendai_RS.jpg