Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 14, 2026

Stress Distribution During Cold Compression of Rocks and Mineral Aggregates Using Synchrotron-based X-Ray Diffraction
Published on: May 20, 2018
Stress state in the largest displacement area of the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake
Weiren Lin1, Marianne Conin, J Casey Moore
1Kochi Institute for Core Sample Research, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Nankoku, Japan. lin@jamstec.go.jp
Abstract:
The 2011 moment magnitude 9.0 Tohoku-Oki earthquake produced a maximum coseismic slip of more than 50 meters near the Japan trench, which could result in a completely reduced stress state in the region. We tested this hypothesis by determining the in situ stress state of the frontal prism from boreholes drilled by the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program approximately 1 year after the earthquake and by inferring the pre-earthquake stress state. On the basis of the horizontal stress orientations and magnitudes estimated from borehole breakouts and the increase in coseismic displacement during propagation of the rupture to the trench axis, in situ horizontal stress decreased during the earthquake. The stress change suggests an active slip of the frontal plate interface, which is consistent with coseismic fault weakening and a nearly total stress drop.
Related Concept Videos
Impact Loading
In cases of elastic deformation,...
Stress: General Loading Conditions
The shearing force, possessing potential directionality within the plane of the section, is simplified into two component forces running parallel to the x and y axes.
Stress Concentrations
Stress Concentrations
The stress concentration...
Stress
General State of Stress
Specifically, consider a tetrahedral element where one face, labeled XYZ, is perpendicular to the line OA, and the remaining faces align with the coordinate axes with point O as the origin. At any point, such as point O, the stress tensor can be used to determine the stress...