Japan Quake was Different

Introduction

Scientists have prepared the first large set of observational data of the 9.0 Tohoku-Oki earthquake and resulting tsunami that struck Japan on March 11. They found that the length of fault that experienced significant slip during the quake was about 250 kilometres, about half of what would be expected for an event of this magnitude. The amount of strain associated with the quake's displacement was five to 10 times larger than normally seen in large megathrust quakes.

Source

Down To Earth, June 2011