Source parameters of the 2014 Mw 6.1 South Napa earthquake estimated from the Sentinel 1A, COSMO-SkyMed and GPS data

Abstract

Using the combination of two InSAR and one GPS data sets, we present the detailed source model of the 2014 Mw 6.1 South Napa earthquake, the biggest tremor to hit the San Francisco Bay Area since the 1989 Mw 6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake. The InSAR data are from the Sentinel-1A (S1A) and COSMO-SkyMed (CS) satellites, and GPS data are provided by Nevada Geodetic Laboratory. We firstly obtain the complete coseismic deformation fields of this event and estimate the InSAR data errors, then using the S1A data to construct the fault geometry, one main and two short parallel sub-faults which haven't been identified by field investigation. As expected the geometry is in good agreement with the aftershock distribution. By inverting the InSAR and GPS data, we derive a three segment slip and rake models. Our model indicates that this event was a right-lateral strike-slip earthquake with a slight reverse component in the West Napa Fault as we estimated. The fault is ~30km long and more than 80% of the seismic moment was released at the center of the fault segment, where the slip reached its maximum (up to 1m). We also find that our geodetic moment magnitude is 2.07×1018Nm, corresponding to Mw 6.18, larger than that of USGS (Mw 6.0) and GCMT (Mw 6.1). This difference may partly be explained by our InSAR data including about one week's postseismic deformation and aftershocks. The results also demonstrate high SNR and great ability of the newly launched Sentinel-1A in earthquake study. Furthermore, this study suggests that this earthquake has potential to trigger nearby faults, especially the Green Valley fault where the coulomb stress was imparted by the 2014 South Napa earthquake.