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Rapid surface rupture mapping from satellite data: The 2023 Kahramanmaraş, Turkey (Türkiye), earthquake sequence

November 2, 2023

The 6 February 2023 Kahramanmaraş, Turkey (Türkiye), earthquake sequence produced > 500 km of surface rupture primarily on the left‐lateral East Anatolian (~345 km) and Çardak (~175 km) faults. Constraining the length and magnitude of surface displacement on the causative faults is critical for loss estimates, recovery efforts, rapid identification of impacted infrastructure, and fault displacement hazard analysis. To support these efforts, we rapidly mapped the surface rupture from satellite data with support from remote sensing and field teams, and released the results to the public in near‐real time. Detailed surface rupture mapping commenced on 7 February and continued as high‐resolution (< 1.0 m/pixel) optical images from WorldView satellites (2023 Maxar) became available. We interpreted the initial simplified rupture trace from subpixel offset fields derived from Advanced Land Observation Satellite2 and Sentinel‐1A synthetic aperture radar image pairs available on 8 and 10 February, respectively. The mapping was released publicly on 10 February, with frequent updates, and published in final form four months postearthquake (Reitman, Briggs, et al., 2023). This publicly available, rapid mapping helped guide fieldwork and constrained U.S. Geological Survey finite‐fault and loss estimate models, as well as stress change estimates and dynamic rupture models.

Publication Year 2023
Title Rapid surface rupture mapping from satellite data: The 2023 Kahramanmaraş, Turkey (Türkiye), earthquake sequence
DOI 10.1785/0320230029
Authors Nadine G. Reitman, Richard W. Briggs, William D. Barnhart, Alexandra Elise Hatem, Jessica Ann Thompson Jobe, Christopher DuRoss, Ryan D. Gold, John David Mejstrik, Camille Collett, Richard D Koehler, Sinan Akçiz
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title The Seismic Record
Index ID 70249953
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Geologic Hazards Science Center - Landslides / Earthquake Geology