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Nakajima Lab
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A seismology lab that explores how earthquakes and volcanoes work, using seismic waves as clues.
AboutAbout the lab
Seeing the Earth through seismic waves
The Nakajima Lab studies the mechanisms of earthquakes and volcanic activity in subduction zones.
When an earthquake occurs, seismic waves are generated and travel through the Earth's interior.
By analyzing observed seismic waves, the lab investigates where earthquakes occurred, how faults slip, where magma reservoirs are located, and more.
The lab covers a wide range of topics, from how earthquakes occur to plate structure, the deep parts of volcanoes, and mantle convection.
Key terms
- Subduction zone
- A region where an oceanic plate sinks beneath another plate
- Slab
- The part of a plate that is sinking into the Earth's interior
- Slow slip
- A phenomenon in which a fault at a plate boundary slips slowly without producing strong shaking
NewsLab news
Paper on the earthquake swarm in northern Yamaguchi Prefecture accepted
Paper on a new formulation of receiver function analysis accepted by GJI
Study points to a seamount as a possible cause of seismic activity beneath Kanto (press release)
Paper on the earthquake nest in the Kanto region accepted by Tectonophysics
PhD student's paper on mantle upwelling beneath the slab accepted by PEPI
ResearchResearch themes
With earthquake and volcanic tectonics in subduction zones as its main theme, the lab investigates the Earth's interior through seismic wave analysis. It has studied how earthquakes occur, subsurface structure, and the movement of magma beneath volcanoes.
*Illustrative imageMagmatic Activity and Subsurface Structure of Island Arcs
The lab examines the speed and attenuation of seismic waves beneath the Tohoku region and southwest Japan. In Tohoku, it showed that obliquely rising mantle flow forms the roots of volcanoes.
*Illustrative imageEarthquakes Within Subducting Plates
The lab studies the distribution and occurrence of earthquakes within subducting plates (slabs). It has proposed a model in which water within the plate and its dehydration cause earthquakes.
*Illustrative imageSlow Earthquakes and Underground Water
The lab proposed a model in which water moves upward to shallower depths in step with slow slip at the plate boundary, triggering earthquakes. It also studies the conditions under which low-frequency earthquakes occur.
*Illustrative imageShape of Subducting Plates
From seismic wave speeds and earthquake distribution, the lab estimates the shape of the plates subducting beneath the Kanto and Chubu regions and southwest Japan. It also discusses the relationship between seismic activity and the region beneath Kanto where two plates are in contact.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Nakajima Lab consist of faculty members and PhD, master's, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorJunichi NakajimaPublications ↗
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “A seismogram of 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami” Z22 / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Magmatic Activity and Subsurface Structure of Island Arcs: “Mount Iwate” Lee Siebert, Smithsonian Institution / Public domain (cropped)
- Earthquakes Within Subducting Plates: “Japan trench topographic” Peka / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Slow Earthquakes and Underground Water: “Slow and fast earthquakes in the Nankai Trough and Japan Trench” SlowEQ / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Shape of Subducting Plates: “Northeastern Philippine Sea Plate” Gofukuji / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (石川研究室): “Lherzolite mantle xenolith in basalt (Afton Basalt Flow Upper Pleistocene, 15-20 ka; Kilbourne Hole Crater, Aden-Afton Basalt Field, Potrillo Volcanic Field, southwestern New Mexico, USA) ( )” James St. John / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (横山研究室): “Asteroid Ryugu (ann19006a)” JAXA, University of Tokyo & collaborators / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (太田研究室): “DiamondAnvilCell 003” National Institute of Standards and Technology / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (羽場研究室): “Eucrite (Vestan gabbro) (Tirhert Meteorite)” James St. John / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
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