The 2011 MW 6.8 Burma earthquake: fault constraints provided by multiple SAR techniques

Abstract

We used two tracks of ALOS PALSAR images to investigate the focal mechanism and slip distribution of the 2011 March 24, M W 6.8 Burma strike-slip earthquake. Three different SAR techniques, namely conventional interferometry, SAR pixel offsets (SPO) and multiple-aperture InSAR (MAI), were employed to obtain the coseismic surface deformation fields along the ∼30 km length of the fault rupture. Along-track measurements from SPO and MAI techniques show a high correlation, and were subsequently used to precisely determine the location and extent of the surface fault trace. The best-fitting fault model geometry derived from an iterative inversion technique suggests that the rupture occurred on a near-vertical sinistral strike-slip fault west of the Nam Ma fault with a strike of 70°. A maximum slip of 4.2 m occurs at a depth of 2.5 km, with significant slip constrained only to the upper 10 km of the crust.