Fig. 2: Maximum shear stress (τmax) from finite-element models for the Iwaki (left) and Sendai (right) transects.

Modeled τmax 1 day (top row), 6 months (middle row) and 12 months (bottom row) after the Tohoku-Oki earthquake. Viscoelastic stress relaxation leads to temporal changes in τmax. The dashed line indicates the crust-mantle boundary. Note that the stress contrast along the Sendai transect at ~250 km from the trench results from a change in material parameters in the model that would likely be more gradual in nature. See Fig. 1 for location of transects.