Tsunami-generated turbidity current of the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake

We show the first real-time record of the turbidity current associated with a great earthquake; in this case with the Mw 9.0, 2011 Tohoku-Oki event.Turbidity current deposits (turbidites) have been used to estimate earthquake recurrence intervals from geologic records.Until now, however, there has been no direct of evidence for the large-scale earthquake in subduction plate margins.After the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake and tsunami, an anomalous event on the sea floor consistent with a turbidity current was recorded by ocean bottom pressure recorders and ocean bottom seismometers deployed off Sendai.Freshly-emplaced turbidites were collected from a wide area of seafloor off the Tohoku coastal region.We analyzed these measurements and sedimentary records to determine conditions of the modern tsunamigenic turbidity current.We anticipate our discovery to be a starting point for more detailed characterization of modern tsunamigenic turbidites toward their identification in geologic records.