Coseismic Rupture Behaviors of the January and March 2022 M<sub>W</sub> > 5.5 Hala Lake Earthquakes, NE Tibet, Constrained by InSAR Observations

On 23 January and 25 March 2022, two M<sub>W</sub> > 5.5 Hala Lake earthquakes characterized by right-lateral strike-slip faulting occurred around the Elashan Fault in Northeastern Tibet, marking the two largest events since the 1927 M<sub>W</sub> 6.2 Hala Lake earthquake....

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Main Authors: Jiuyuan Yang, Caijun Xu, Yangmao Wen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-02-01
Series:Remote Sensing
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/15/4/1124
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author Jiuyuan Yang
Caijun Xu
Yangmao Wen
author_facet Jiuyuan Yang
Caijun Xu
Yangmao Wen
author_sort Jiuyuan Yang
collection DOAJ
description On 23 January and 25 March 2022, two M<sub>W</sub> > 5.5 Hala Lake earthquakes characterized by right-lateral strike-slip faulting occurred around the Elashan Fault in Northeastern Tibet, marking the two largest events since the 1927 M<sub>W</sub> 6.2 Hala Lake earthquake. Since no surface rupture related to the two earthquakes has been reported, the seismogenic faults and coseismic rupture behaviors of the two events are still unknown. The occurrence of the two events provides a rare opportunity to gain insight into the seismogenic structure and rupture behavior of the less studied region, further helping us accurately evaluate the regional seismic hazard. Here, we first exploit Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) data to obtain the coseismic deformation associated with the two earthquakes and then invert for the fault geometry and detailed coseismic slip of the two events. Coseismic modeling reveals that the January and March 2022 earthquakes ruptured two buried west-dipping moderate-angle and high-angle right-lateral strike-slip faults, respectively. Most of the slip of the January event occurred at depths from 1.7–7.6 km, while the majority of the slip associated with the March event occurred at depths from 2.5–10 km, which may have been restricted by the intersections between the January and March Hala Lake seismogenic faults. By a comprehensive analysis of the coseismic inversions, stress changes, and early postseismic signal, we suggest that the significant fault dip difference (~30°), highlighting a fault segmentation, stops the rupture propagation from one fault segment to another and that fluid migration may encourage the restart of the rupture of the later event, which requires further investigation. Moreover, Coulomb stress modeling shows stress loading on the eastern segment of the Daxueshan–Shule Fault and the northern segment of the Elashan fault, which we should pay more attention to.
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spelling doaj.art-09a5233d9c5c4ea29d0db144ce9a99f72023-11-16T23:03:56ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922023-02-01154112410.3390/rs15041124Coseismic Rupture Behaviors of the January and March 2022 M<sub>W</sub> > 5.5 Hala Lake Earthquakes, NE Tibet, Constrained by InSAR ObservationsJiuyuan Yang0Caijun Xu1Yangmao Wen2School of Geodesy and Geomatics, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430079, ChinaSchool of Geodesy and Geomatics, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430079, ChinaSchool of Geodesy and Geomatics, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430079, ChinaOn 23 January and 25 March 2022, two M<sub>W</sub> > 5.5 Hala Lake earthquakes characterized by right-lateral strike-slip faulting occurred around the Elashan Fault in Northeastern Tibet, marking the two largest events since the 1927 M<sub>W</sub> 6.2 Hala Lake earthquake. Since no surface rupture related to the two earthquakes has been reported, the seismogenic faults and coseismic rupture behaviors of the two events are still unknown. The occurrence of the two events provides a rare opportunity to gain insight into the seismogenic structure and rupture behavior of the less studied region, further helping us accurately evaluate the regional seismic hazard. Here, we first exploit Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) data to obtain the coseismic deformation associated with the two earthquakes and then invert for the fault geometry and detailed coseismic slip of the two events. Coseismic modeling reveals that the January and March 2022 earthquakes ruptured two buried west-dipping moderate-angle and high-angle right-lateral strike-slip faults, respectively. Most of the slip of the January event occurred at depths from 1.7–7.6 km, while the majority of the slip associated with the March event occurred at depths from 2.5–10 km, which may have been restricted by the intersections between the January and March Hala Lake seismogenic faults. By a comprehensive analysis of the coseismic inversions, stress changes, and early postseismic signal, we suggest that the significant fault dip difference (~30°), highlighting a fault segmentation, stops the rupture propagation from one fault segment to another and that fluid migration may encourage the restart of the rupture of the later event, which requires further investigation. Moreover, Coulomb stress modeling shows stress loading on the eastern segment of the Daxueshan–Shule Fault and the northern segment of the Elashan fault, which we should pay more attention to.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/15/4/1124Hala Lake earthquakeInSARcoseismic deformationburied strike-slip faultcoulomb stress
spellingShingle Jiuyuan Yang
Caijun Xu
Yangmao Wen
Coseismic Rupture Behaviors of the January and March 2022 M<sub>W</sub> > 5.5 Hala Lake Earthquakes, NE Tibet, Constrained by InSAR Observations
Remote Sensing
Hala Lake earthquake
InSAR
coseismic deformation
buried strike-slip fault
coulomb stress
title Coseismic Rupture Behaviors of the January and March 2022 M<sub>W</sub> > 5.5 Hala Lake Earthquakes, NE Tibet, Constrained by InSAR Observations
title_full Coseismic Rupture Behaviors of the January and March 2022 M<sub>W</sub> > 5.5 Hala Lake Earthquakes, NE Tibet, Constrained by InSAR Observations
title_fullStr Coseismic Rupture Behaviors of the January and March 2022 M<sub>W</sub> > 5.5 Hala Lake Earthquakes, NE Tibet, Constrained by InSAR Observations
title_full_unstemmed Coseismic Rupture Behaviors of the January and March 2022 M<sub>W</sub> > 5.5 Hala Lake Earthquakes, NE Tibet, Constrained by InSAR Observations
title_short Coseismic Rupture Behaviors of the January and March 2022 M<sub>W</sub> > 5.5 Hala Lake Earthquakes, NE Tibet, Constrained by InSAR Observations
title_sort coseismic rupture behaviors of the january and march 2022 m sub w sub 5 5 hala lake earthquakes ne tibet constrained by insar observations
topic Hala Lake earthquake
InSAR
coseismic deformation
buried strike-slip fault
coulomb stress
url https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/15/4/1124
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AT caijunxu coseismicrupturebehaviorsofthejanuaryandmarch2022msubwsub55halalakeearthquakesnetibetconstrainedbyinsarobservations
AT yangmaowen coseismicrupturebehaviorsofthejanuaryandmarch2022msubwsub55halalakeearthquakesnetibetconstrainedbyinsarobservations