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| HOME > Expedition > NanTroSEIZE
Expedition |
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IODP Nankai Trough Seismogenic Zone Experiment
NanTroSEIZE |
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First Access to the Megathrust Earthquake Zone |
 Earthquakes, especially those at subduction zones, are among the greatest natural hazards on the planet. The Sumatran earthquake and Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 demonstrated to the world how devastating these events can be. To learn more about how and why earthquakes and tsunamis occur, the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) explores the geology below the seafloor to study Earth processes that evolve over time, ultimately causing violent, unpredictable natural disasters.
The Nankai Trough Seismogenic Zone Experiment (NanTroSEIZE) is a complex ocean drilling project that will be conducted over several years with multiple expedition teams of scientists from all around the world. NanTroSEIZE attempts for the first time to drill, sample, and instrument the earthquake-causing, or seismogenic portion of Earth’s crust, where violent, large-scale earthquakes have occurred repeatedly throughout history.
The Nankai Trough is located beneath the ocean off the southwest coast of Japan. It is one of the most active earthquake zones on the planet. The plan for NanTroSEIZE includes drilling, below the ocean, very deep into the Earth to observe earthquake mechanisms. Samples will be collected in order to study the frictional properties of the rock and sensors are to be installed deep beneath the sea floor to record earthquakes up close. The sensors and sample data are expected to yield insight into the processes responsible for earthquakes and tsunami. The data may shed light on how water and rock interact in subduction zones to influence earthquake occurrence.
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| Co-chief Project Scientists |
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Masataka Kinoshita
Institute For Research on Earth Evolution, JAMSTEC (Japan)
Harold J. Tobin
Dept. of Geology and Geophysics, The Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison (USA) |
| Michael Underwood (Univ. Missouri) |
Sedimentology |
| Gaku Kimura (Univ. Tokyo) |
Structural geology |
| Toshiya Kanamatsu (JAMSTEC) |
Paleomagnetics, stratigraphy |
| Goeff Wheat (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute) |
Geochemistry |
| Demian Saffer (Penn. St. University) |
Physical property |
| Gregory Moore (University of Hawaii) |
Core-Logging-Seismic integration |
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EXPEDITION STAGES |
| Stage 1 (USFY 2007-2008) [Completed (Feb 2008)] |
| # |
Expedition |
Objective |
Co-Chief Scientists |
Expedition Project Manager |
Detail |
| 314 |
LWD Transect |
Logging While Drilling (LWD) at all the Stage 1 sites. |
M. Kinoshita
(IFREE/JAMSTEC)
H. Tobin
(Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison) |
Moe Kyaw Thu
(CDEX) |
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| 315 |
Megasplay Riser Pilot |
Shallow branching faults and tectonostratigraphy of the Kumano forearc basin. |
J. Ashi
(Univ. of Tokyo)
S. Lallemant
(Univ. of Cergy-Pontoise) |
H. Masago
(CDEX) |
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| 316 |
Shallow Megasplay and Frontal Thrusts |
Coring of the incoming sediments and prism toe. |
G. Kimura
(Univ. of Tokyo)
E. Screaton
(Univ. of Florida) |
Daniel Curewitz
(Syracuse University) |
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| # |
Expedition |
Objective |
Co-Chief Scientists |
Expedition Project Manager |
Detail |
| 319 |
Riser/Riserless Observatory 1 |
To prepare for future installation of the Long-Term Borehole Monitoring Systems (LTBMS) by Riser and Riserless drillings in the great earthquake and Tsunami-genic region of the Nankai accretionary prism. |
Eiichiro Araki
(MARITEC/JAMSTEC)
Tim Byrne
(Connecticut University)
Lisa McNeill
(University of Southampton)
Demian Saffer
(Pennsylvania State University)
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Nobu Eguchi
(CDEX)
Kyoma Takahashi
(CDEX)
Sean Toczko
(CDEX) |
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| 322 |
Subduction Inputs |
Characterization of composition, architecture, and state of pre-subduction sediments transported to the seismigenic zone. |
Michael B. Underwood
(Univ. of Missouri)
Saneatsu Saito
(IFREE/JAMSTEC) |
Yusuke Kubo
(CDEX) |
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 Stage 3
Stage 3 is a very challenging expedition that will focus on drilling 5,500–6,000 meters deep into the seismogenic zone and across the plate interface into the subducting crust. Once drilling is complete, an initial monitoring system will be deployed in the borehole. This monitoring system shall remain in place for one to two years, while the "final" long-term monitoring package is readied.
Stage 4
Stage 4 will install long-term observatory systems into the two ultra-deep boreholes. In Japan, a seafloor fiber-optic network for seismic monitoring and other applications is proposed for deployment in the Kumano Basin region. One exciting possibility is that the NanTroSEIZE boreholes ultimately could be connected to this network in Stage 4, allowing real-time access to earthquake data. |
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MEDIA & PRESS |
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PUBLICATIONS/Brochure |
| Original Drilling Proposal |
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