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Transient deformation excited by the 2021 M7.4 Maduo (China) earthquake: Evidence of a deep shear zone
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  • Zeyu Jin,
  • Yuri Fialko,
  • Hongfeng Yang,
  • Yu Li
Zeyu Jin
Scripps Institution of Oceanography

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Yuri Fialko
UCSD
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Hongfeng Yang
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
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Yu Li
China Earthquake Networks Center
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Abstract

The 2021 M7.4 Maduo (China) earthquake ruptured a 170 km-long left-lateral fault within the Bayan Har tectonic block in the northeast Tibetan Plateau. We use Sentinel-1 and ALOS-2 Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar, and Global Navigation Satellite System data to investigate the mechanisms of coseismic and postseismic deformation due to the Maduo earthquake. We present a refined coseismic slip model that features variations in both strike and dip angles, constrained by the rupture trace and precisely located aftershocks. The postseismic displacements are discontinuous along the fault trace, indicating shallow afterslip and velocity-strengthening friction in the top 2-3 km of the upper crust. Postseismic displacements that have the same sense as the coseismic ones are also observed at larger (> 50 km) distances away from the fault trace. The observed surface deformation is qualitatively consistent with either deep afterslip or viscoelastic relaxation, but does not exhibit obvious features that could be attributed to poroelastic effects. We developed a fully coupled model that accounts for both stress-driven creep on a deep localized shear zone and viscoelastic relaxation in the bulk of the lower crust. The mid- to near-field data can be reasonably well explained by either deep afterslip or non-Maxwellian visco-elasticity. However, a good fit to both the near and far-field (> 150 km) GNSS data cannot be achieved assuming the bulk viscoelastic relaxation alone, and requires a contribution of deep afterlip and/or a localized shear zone extending through much of the lower crust.
02 Mar 2023Submitted to ESS Open Archive
06 Mar 2023Published in ESS Open Archive