Re-Estimating a Source Model for the 1923 Kanto Earthquake by Joint Inversion of Tsunami Waveforms and Coseismic Deformation Data

Abstract

ABSTRACT The 1923 Kanto earthquake generated not only strong motions that caused a devastating disaster around the metropolitan Tokyo area but also a large tsunami. Although the slip distribution of the 1923 Kanto earthquake has been estimated by several researchers, tsunami waveforms observed at tide gauges near the source have never been used. In this study, the slip distribution of the 1923 Kanto earthquake was estimated using joint inversion of tsunami waveforms and vertical crustal deformations reported in historical documents. The estimated slip distribution was generally consistent with those estimated in the previous studies except for a large slip of 9 m along the western portion of the plate interface, up-dip near the Sagami trough. The east coast of the Izu Peninsula was inundated by the tsunami and surveyed after the tsunami to determine tsunami heights in the inundation areas. The tsunami inundation computed from the estimated slip distribution explained the tsunami heights, and the large slip played an important role in large inundation. These results indicate that the large slip west of the Sagami trough is essential for explaining the observed tsunami caused by the 1923 Kanto earthquake.