Airborne LiDAR-Based Mapping of Surface Ruptures and Coseismic Slip of the 1955 Zheduotang Earthquake on the Xianshuihe Fault, East Tibet

Abstract

ABSTRACT Surface ruptures and coseismic slip distributions of large earthquakes are the keys to understanding earthquake rupture processes, analyzing rupture history of associated faults, and assessing earthquake hazards. Detailed mapping of surface ruptures of large historical earthquakes is needed but is difficult in remote regions. The 1955 Ms 7.5 Zheduotang earthquake occurred in a prominent restraining bend of the central sinistral Xianshuihe fault and within a high-relief and densely vegetated mountain range. This study characterizes the 1955 earthquake surface rupture via 50 cm resolution airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data, combined with field investigations. Our mapping of geomorphic features showed that relatively fresh mole tracks and fault scarps are still preserved beneath the dense vegetation cover. The 1955 earthquake ruptured at least 30 km in length, which consisted of four sections separated by stepovers or changes in the strike. Overall, the multistranded rupture was more complex than that of other historical earthquakes to the northwest along the Xianshuihe fault but consistent with its local structural setting. We collected 47 LiDAR-derived and 48 field-based left-lateral (with minor vertical) measurements. The clustering of the smallest offsets suggests that the average sinistral coseismic displacement of the 1955 earthquake was ∼2.1 m based on LiDAR-derived data and ∼1.5 m based on field measurements. This difference highlights the ambiguity and difficulties associated with surface rupture investigations of historical earthquakes decades after the event. The rupture length (∼30 km) and average sinistral displacement (1.5–2.1 m) suggest a moment magnitude of 6.6–7.4 based on empirical relationships of strike-slip earthquakes worldwide. The magnitude is smaller than the widely accepted Ms 7.5 in the catalog, suggesting that the previously reported magnitude was possibly overestimated. Our data have implications for the seismic hazard evaluation of the Sichuan–Tibet railway, which passes through the northern part of the ruptured fault.