Fault geometry and rupture speed as controls on off-fault deformation in the 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquakes
Abstract Coseismic off-fault deformation (OFD) measurements provide crucial insight into fault deformation behavior and shallow faulting damage. Although kinematic and dynamic characteristics of the causative faults associated with the 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquake doublet (Mw 7.8 and 7.6) were well...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2025-02-01
|
| Series: | Communications Earth & Environment |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02089-4 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | Abstract Coseismic off-fault deformation (OFD) measurements provide crucial insight into fault deformation behavior and shallow faulting damage. Although kinematic and dynamic characteristics of the causative faults associated with the 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquake doublet (Mw 7.8 and 7.6) were well determined, the OFD behavior and mechanism remain poorly constrained. Here we utilized high-resolution optical satellite geodesy to illuminate OFD distribution of the earthquake doublet. We found an average of ~80% and ~83% of coseismic fault deformation were localized on the primary fault planes of the Mw 7.8 and Mw 7.6 earthquakes, respectively; together, the remaining deformation manifested as OFD distributed within an average of 200-m- and 140-m-wide damage zones. Our observations revealed the OFD systematically increases in fault segments that have more complex geometry and slower coseismic rupture velocity, validating that both factors exhibit a significant facilitation on first-order variation of OFD during the earthquake doublet. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2662-4435 |