Application of Singular Spectrum Analysis to InSAR time-series for constraining the postseismic deformation due to moderate magnitude earthquakes: the case of 2019 Mw 6 Mirpur earthquake, NW Himalaya

Abstract

Summary Detection and separation of the subtle postseismic deformation signals associated with moderate magnitude earthquakes from Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) time-series is often challenging. Singular Spectrum Analysis (SSA) is a statistical non-parametric technique used to decompose and reconstruct signals from complex time-series data. We show that the SSA analysis effectively distinguished the postseismic signal associated with the 2019 Mw 6 Mirpur earthquake from periodic and noise components. The SSA derived postseismic deformation signal is smoother and fits better to an exponential model with a decay time of 34 days. The postseismic deformation is confined to the southeast of the rupture area and lasted for ∼90 days following the mainshock. Inversion of the postseismic deformation suggests an afterslip mechanism with a maximum slip of ∼0.07 m on the shallow, up-dip portions of the Main Himalayan Thrust. The 2019 Mirpur earthquake and afterslip together released less than 12 per cent of the accumulated strain energy since the 1555 Kashmir earthquake and implies continued seismic hazard in the future.