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Seismology

Breaking the slab

Two chains of seamounts on the Pacific plate subduct beneath central Japan. In the process, a fragment of the Pacific slab has become wedged in the subduction zone and may be the source of recurring deep-thrust earthquakes beneath Tokyo.

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Figure 1: Schematic model of subduction in the Japan region.

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Miller, M. Breaking the slab. Nature Geosci 1, 730–731 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo341

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