The Nankai trough is only one of many similar places around the world where there are massive Earthquakes and Tsunamis. However, there is a long historical record here, and we have the advantage of being close to a country with high technology (Japan). We can use this project as a kind of "Living Laboratory" to learn more about how and why these big earthquakes and tsunamis happen here, and use these lessons at other regions around the world.

The Nankai Trough Seismogenic Zone Experiment (NanTroSEIZE) is an international research collaboration effort, nearly a 20-year project (10 years of planning and 10 years of field & lab research) to study this important region.

There are many ways we can "remotely" study this area. We can use sound reflection data to get a "picture" of what the deep sub surface looks like - but this is a very limited technique, and raises more questions than it answers. We can find "fossil" analogues on land, and study the rocks there, but this doesn't tell us anything about what is happening right now. We need to get samples and data directly from, or as close as we can, to better understand the "system" as it now exists, and try to understand the mechanisms acting on it now. There is no real substitute for this.

No, the water is too deep here, normally more than 2000 m deep, for normal diving. Even if we could dive, there would be nothing to see as all the "action" is happening under the sea floor. The drilling equipment includes special tools, that collect many kinds of data as the drill penetrates the sediments or rocks, and sends this data back to the ship. We can use different tools to cut sediment of rock samples from deep under the sea floor and return those to the ship for analysis and experiments. There is a world-class lab on board Chikyu, where scientists can begin their research while the borehole is still being drilled.