Experimental earthquake duct videos, Seibert et al. 2025

The largest earthquakes are infrequent and poorly understood. We propose that seismic waves from major subduction earthquake ruptures can move the overlaying sea floor relatively to the water vigorously enough to entrain sediment. We used physical tank experiments to test and further develop this model. We show that relative water velocities consistent with long-period earthquake motion can mobilize synthetic fine marine sediment, and that high frequency vertical shaking can enhance this mobilization. Earthquake-induced seafloor motion for Tohoku-like earthquakes can entrain several centimeters of surficial sediment, depending on sediment characteristics including clay type, grain size, water content and salinity. High-frequency vertical shacking can enhance this entrainment. We have validated a new mechanism of co-seismic sediment entrainment in deep-water environments.

The data archived here are videos of these physical tank experiments.

特大地震发生频次极低，且相关机制尚未得到充分认知。我们提出，大型俯冲地震破裂产生的地震波可驱动上覆海底与水体发生剧烈相对运动，其剧烈程度足以裹挟海底沉积物。我们借助物理水槽实验对该模型进行验证并进一步完善。实验结果表明，与长周期地震运动匹配的水体相对流速可起动合成细粒海洋沉积物，高频垂直振动能够强化这一起动过程。类似2011年日本东北大地震的地震事件所引发的海底运动，可裹挟数厘米厚的表层沉积物，裹挟程度取决于沉积物的黏土类型、粒度、含水率及盐度等特性。高频垂直振动可进一步增强该沉积物裹挟效应。我们验证了深水环境中同震沉积物裹挟（co-seismic sediment entrainment）的全新机制。
本数据集归档的内容为上述物理水槽实验的相关视频。