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Rupture process of the M6.5 Stanley, Idaho, earthquake inferred from seismic waveform and geodetic data

December 23, 2020

The 2020 M 6.5 Stanley, Idaho, earthquake produced rupture in the north of the active Sawtooth fault in the northern basin and range at depth, without any observable surface rupture. Global Positioning System (GPS) and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) data yield several millimeters of static offsets out to ∼100  km from the rupture and up to ∼0.1  m of near‐field crustal deformation. We combine the GPS and InSAR data with long‐period regional seismic waveforms to derive models of kinematic slip and afterslip. We find that the coseismic rupture is complex, likely involving up to 2 m combined left‐lateral strike slip and normal slip on a previously unidentified ∼south‐southeast‐striking fault. This slip is predominantly left‐lateral strike slip, different from the dominant east‐northeast–west‐northwest normal faulting of the region. At least one ∼northeast‐trending fault, likely associated with the Trans‐Challis fault system, is inferred to have accommodated a few decimeters of right‐lateral afterslip, consistent with vigorous aftershock activity at depth along northeast‐trending lineations.

Publication Year 2021
Title Rupture process of the M6.5 Stanley, Idaho, earthquake inferred from seismic waveform and geodetic data
DOI 10.1785/0220200315
Authors Frederick Pollitz, William C. Hammond, Charles Wicks
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title Seismological Research Letters
Index ID 70263411
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Earthquake Science Center
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