Towards Elucidation of Megathrust Earthquake Mechanism Along Nankai Trough — Research Program for Plate Dynamics

摘要

The formation, evolution and subduc-tion of the lithospheric plates are the surface expression of a cooling Earth. The dynamics of these plates, which can be thought of as a cooling system for "heat engine" Earth, is responsible for the occurrence of internal and surface phenomena occurring over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales — from rapid events such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions which can have a pronounced impact on our daily lives, to the formation of mountain ranges, island arcs and marginal seas which occur over geologic time scales of millions of years.