title: Tectonic pumping: earthquake-induced chemical flux detected in situ by a submarine cable experiment in Sagami Bay, Japan.
abstract: We successfully deployed an in situ automatic chemical analyzer sensitive to manganese (Mn) in seawater for a period of 81 days for the first time on the deep seafloor of Sagami Bay along a convergent plate boundary south of Japan. The in situ Mn analyzer (GAMOS-IV) was connected to a submarine cable as a means to supply power and to relay real time data. During the observation period from April 5 till June 25, 2006, the amount of measured Mn was seen to increase abruptly up to 10 times that of the background level only on April 21, probably triggered by a M5.8 earthquake which occurred ∼7 km south-southwest of the observation site. This study demonstrates the suitability of submarine cables for the long-term geochemical monitoring of deep sea environments.
authors.affiliation: Ocean Research Institute, the University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan .
authors.forename: Toshitaka
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gamo
authors.affiliation: Center for Advanced Marine Core Research, Kochi University, Kochi, Japan .
authors.forename: Kei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Okamura
authors.affiliation: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), Kanagawa, Japan .
authors.forename: Kyohiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mitsuzawa
authors.affiliation: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), Kanagawa, Japan .
authors.forename: Kenichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Asakawa
keywords: earthquake; plate boundary; submarine cable; submarine in situ Mn analyzer; temporal fluid venting