Patterns and mechanisms of coseismic and postseismic slips of the 2011 MW 7.1 Van (Turkey) earthquake revealed by multi-platform synthetic aperture radar interferometry

Feng, W., Li, Z., Hoey, T. , Zhang, Y., Wang, R., Samsonov, S., Li, Y. and Xu, Z. (2014) Patterns and mechanisms of coseismic and postseismic slips of the 2011 MW 7.1 Van (Turkey) earthquake revealed by multi-platform synthetic aperture radar interferometry. Tectonophysics, 632, pp. 188-198. (doi: 10.1016/j.tecto.2014.06.011)

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Abstract

On 23rd October 2011, a MW 7.1 reverse slip earthquake occurred in the Bardakçı-Saray thrust fault zone in the Van region, Eastern Turkey. Earlier geodetic studies have found different slip distributions in terms of both magnitude and pattern. In this paper, we present several COSMO-SkyMED (CSK), Envisat ASAR and RADARSAT-2 interferograms spanning different time intervals, showing that significant postseismic signals can be observed in the first three days after the mainshock. Using observations that combine coseismic and postseismic signals is shown to significantly underestimate coseismic slip. We hence employed the CSK pair with the minimum postseismic signals to generate one conventional interferogram and one along-track interferogram for further coseismic modelling. Our best-fit coseismic slip model suggests that: (1) this event is associated with a buried NNW dipping fault with a preferable dip angle of 49° and a maximum slip of 6.5 m at a depth of 12 km; and (2) two unequal asperities can be observed, consistent with previous seismic solutions. Significant oblique aseismic slip with predominant left-lateral slip components above the coseismic rupture zone within the first 3 days after the mainshock is also revealed by a postseismic CSK interferogram, indicating that the greatest principal stress axis might have rotated due to a significant stress drop during the coseismic rupture.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Hoey, Professor Trevor and Li, Dr Zhenhong
Authors: Feng, W., Li, Z., Hoey, T., Zhang, Y., Wang, R., Samsonov, S., Li, Y., and Xu, Z.
College/School:College of Science and Engineering > School of Geographical and Earth Sciences
Journal Name:Tectonophysics
Publisher:Elsevier B.V.
ISSN:0040-1951
ISSN (Online):0040-1951

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Project CodeAward NoProject NamePrincipal InvestigatorFunder's NameFunder RefLead Dept
604231Looking inside the Continents from Space: Insights into Earthquake Hazard and Crustal DeformationZhenhong LiNatural Environment Research Council (NERC)NE/K010794/1SCHOOL OF GEOGRAPHICAL & EARTH SCIENCES