Synthetic aperture radar interferometry observations of theM= 6.0 Orta earthquake of 6 June 2000 (NW Turkey): Reactivation of a listric fault

Abstract

We study the coseismic surface displacement field due to the Orta earthquake of 6 June 2000, a moderate‐sized (Mw6.0) oblique‐slip event that took place on a previously unknown fault located about 70 km north of the capital, Ankara (Turkey), and about 35 km south of the North Anatolian Fault. We use European Space Agency ERS synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data to generate high‐resolution maps of the surface displacements by a two‐pass differential SAR interferometry method. The surface displacement field reaching up to 15 cm line of sight subsidence is captured in several coseismic interferograms from descending orbits and is inverted to determine the source parameters of the earthquake using elastic dislocations on rectangular fault surfaces with a nonlinear minimization procedure based on simulating annealing algorithm. Modeling of the coseismic interferograms indicates that the earthquake was associated with a shallow (<6 km) left‐lateral oblique normal displacement that occurred on a north‐south striking, eastward dipping, listric fault trending at a high angle to the plate boundary, right‐lateral strike‐slip North Anatolian fault. Careful analyses of multiple interferograms together with the field observations allow us to infer the rupture geometry in fine detail. Modeling shows that coseismic slip occurs nearly only on the lower portion of the listric fault at a centroid depth of about 5 km but partially reaches to the surface along the surface trace of the Dodurga fault, in agreement with the field observations. We show that in the absence of field observations, additional measurements, or multiple interferograms that capture the surface deformation from different look angles, SAR interferometry alone may not be sufficient to constrain earthquake rupture geometry if there is no clear surface faulting. The results suggest that the Dodurga fault developed most probably as a result of a restraining bend along the North Anatolian fault and its left‐lateral kinematics is consistent with the stress regime that favors the right‐lateral North Anatolian fault.