Coseismic slip and early afterslip of the 2021 Mw 7.4 Maduo, China earthquake constrained by GPS and InSAR data

Abstract

The 2021 Mw 7.4 Maduo earthquake occurred on the left-lateral Kunlun Pass-Jiangcuo fault (KPJF) located within the Bayan Har block, Tibetan Plateau, caused an ∼165-km-long surface rupture and widespread ground deformation. This earthquake was well recorded by SAR images and our near-field GPS network during the coseismic and postseismic periods, providing a rare opportunity to shed light on the seismic and aseismic slip behaviors on the slow-slipping causative fault. Here, we constrain the coseismic slip distribution of the 2021 Maduo earthquake by the joint use of InSAR and near-field GPS observations. Then, time-dependent afterslip evolution is inverted from cGPS and InSAR time series in the first ∼160 days after the mainshock. The results show that the mainshock involves five asperities with a maximum slip of 4.79 m, including an E-W trending main fault and a secondary fault locates on the eastern end of the main fault. The significant energy released near Changmahe Township could be partialy explained by the fact that the seismogenic fault here cut through the pre-existing NW-SE trending faults. Afterslip played a dominant role in the early postseismic deformation, which has released seismic moment equivalent to an Mw 6.78 earthquake, 10.3% of the coseismic moment. The seismic and aseismic slip distributions have complementary patterns in spatial, except for the overlaps on the Changmahe segment, suggesting the heterogeneity of frictional property on the fault plane. The rupture of the Maduo earthquake is located in the stress shadow induced by historical earthquakes, indicating the high accumulated stress on the KPJF. The stress level, as well as the potential seismic hazard on the ∼300-km-long seismic gap between the 2001 Kokoxili earthquake and the 2021 Maduo earthquake, is further raised by the historical events.