The October 4, 1994 Shikotan (Kurile Islands) Tsunamigenic Earthquake: An Open Problem on the Source Mechanism

Abstract

—On October 4, 1994, an earthquake of magnitude M _w = 8.2 occurred in the western part of the Kurile Islands, generating a tsunami that has been well recorded along the entire coast of Japan. Previous works have shown that this earthquake does not represent a low angle thrust event, normally expected in a subduction zone, rather an intra-plate event rupturing through the slab. On the basis of the accepted mechanism, two fault models, representative of the nodal plane ambiguity, have been suggested. The goal of this work is to verify whether the tsunami simulations are able to rule out one of the two proposed fault models. Taking into account both fault models together with a heterogeneous slip along the fault, we have performed numerical simulations of the tsunami. All source models produce tide-gauge records in agreement with the observed ones. The limit of resolution of the performed simulations, estimated by means of a perturbed bathymetry, does not allow us to distinguish the best source model.