Using monthly satellite gravimetry data, we studied time‐variable gravity field after three M9 class earthquakes, the 2004 Sumatra‐Andaman, 2010 Chile (Maule), and 2011 Tohoku‐oki earthquakes. The observations showed that the gravity typically (1) decreases coseismically, (2) continues to decrease for a few months, and (3) increases over a longer period. Therefore, postseismic gravity changes have two components with different time constants and polarities. The mechanisms of short‐ and long‐term postseismic gravity changes are not as clear as coseismic changes at the moment, but might be explained to some extent with afterslip and the Maxwell viscoelasticity, respectively. These two components are difficult to discriminate with surface velocity measurements because the forearc area moves trenchward at both stages. They appear in different polarities in gravity, making satellite gravimetry a unique tool to separate them.

Coseismic gravity changes stem from (1) vertical deformation of layer boundaries with density contrast (i.e., surface and Moho) and (2) density changes of rocks at depth. They have been observed in earthquakes with M_w exceeding ~8.5 by Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites, but those of M8 class earthquakes have never been detected clearly. Here we report coseismic gravity change of the 24 May 2013 Okhotsk deep earthquake (M_w8.3), smaller than the detection threshold. In shallow thrust faulting, factor (2) is dominant, while factor (1) remains secondary due to poor spatial resolution of GRACE. In the 2013 Okhotsk earthquake, however, factor (2) is insignificant because they occur at depth exceeding 600 km. On the other hand, factor (1) becomes dominant because the centers of uplift and subsidence are well separated and GRACE can resolve them. This enables GRACE to map vertical ground movements of deep earthquakes over both land and ocean.

Slow deformations associated with a subducting slab can affect quasi-static displacements and seismicity over a wide range of depths. Here, we analyse the seismotectonic activities in the Tonga subduction zone, which is the world’s most active area with regard to deep earthquakes. In our study, we combine data from global navigation satellite systems with an earthquake catalogue. We focus on the deep earthquakes that are below 400 km at the lower part of the Wadati–Benioff zone. We find that trenchward transient displacements and quiescence of deep earthquakes, in terms of background seismicity, were bounded in time by large intraslab earthquakes in 2009 and 2013. This “slow deformation event” between 2009 and 2013 may have been triggered by a distant and shallow M8.1 earthquake, which implies a slow slip event at the plate interface or a temporal acceleration of the subduction of the Pacific Plate. These findings provide new insights into the relationship between shallow and deep earthquakes in the subduction zone.

Gravity and geoid are changed irreversibly by earthquakes Earthquake-inducedgeoid changes are well observed by GRACE, not in ocean altimetry Steric an...

Slow deformations associated with a subducting slab can affect quasi-static displacements and seismicity over a wide range of depths. Here, we analyse the seismotectonic activities at the Tonga-Trench subduction zone, which is the world’s most active area with regard to deep earthquakes, using data from GNSS and an earthquake catalogue. We find that trenchward transient displacements and quiescence of deep earthquakes, in terms of background seismicity, were bounded in time by large intraslab earthquakes in 2009 and 2013. We call this event as "slow deformation event”. It may have been triggered by a distant and shallow M8.1 earthquake, which implies a slow slip event at the plate interface or a temporal acceleration of the subduction of the Pacific Plate.

The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite system was launched in 2002, and has been playing important roles in various disciplines of earth and environmental sciences through measuring time-variable gravity field of the earth. It also offers a unique viewpoint to study earthquakes in terms of mass redistribution. We provide a review of earthquake studies with GRACE, e.g. basic facts of the satellite system and available data types, several kinds of non-earthquake gravity changes which may mask the earthquake-related signals. We also summarize past researches about co- and postseismic gravity changes. Two dimensional coseismic gravity changes were first observed with GRACE for the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake. After that, GRACE has caught coseismic gravity changes of the 2010 Maule, the 2011 Tohoku-oki, the 2012 Indian-ocean, and the 2013 Okhotsk deep-focus earthquakes. Such coseismic gravity changes are due mainly to two factors, i.e., the density changes around the fault edges, and the vertical deformations of boundaries with density contrasts such as the surface and the Moho. Short- and long-term postseismic gravity changes are considered to stem from afterslip and viscoelastic relaxation, respectively, but further studies are needed to quantitatively explain the observations.