The Japan earthquake of March 11th, 2011 (Mw = 8.9R) as viewed in terms of local lithospheric oscillation due to M1 and K1 tidal components. A brief presentation

TL;DR

This paper investigates the timing of the 2011 Japan earthquake in relation to local lithospheric oscillations caused by M1 and K1 tidal components, suggesting a correlation between tidal peaks and earthquake occurrence.

Contribution

It demonstrates a close temporal relationship between the earthquake and specific tidal peaks, supporting the hypothesis that tidal forces can trigger large earthquakes.

Findings

Earthquake occurred near M1 tidal peak

Deviation from K1 tidal peak was only 45 minutes

Supports physical mechanism linking tides and seismic activity

Abstract

The time of occurrence of the large EQ that occurred recently in Japan (March 11th, 2011, Mw = 8.9) is compared to the time of peak amplitude occurrence of the M1 and K1 tidal components. It is shown that the specific EQ occurred on the peak of the M1 tidal component, and deviates for only 45 minutes from the corresponding K1 tidal peak. Therefore, the specific seismic event complies quite well with the earlier proposed physical mechanism (lithospheric oscillation) that causes triggering of large EQs.