Heterogeneous Fault Mechanisms of the 6 October 2008 MW 6.3 Dangxiong (Tibet) Earthquake Using Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar Observations

Most current crustal deformation models do not account for topographic effects, crustal lateral variations, and complex fault geometries. To overcome these limitations, we apply finite element models constrained by interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) images of co-seismic displacements to the 2008 Mw 6.3 Dangxiong earthquake that occurred in Yadong–Gulu rift, southern Tibet. For mountainous plateau environments, InSAR observations are advantageous for studying crustal deformation and crustal medium structure. We evaluate the effect of topography and variations in Poisson’s ratio and elastic moduli on estimation of coseismic deformation from InSAR observations. The results show that coseismic surface displacements are more sensitive to variations in Young’s modulus than to variations in topography and Poisson’s ratio. Therefore, with constant Poisson’s ratio and density, we change the Young’s modulus on each side of the fault to obtain the model that best fits the observations. This is attained when the Young’s moduli in the eastern and western sides of the fault were 2.6 × 1010 Pa and 7.8 × 1010 Pa, respectively. The result is consistent with previous field surveys that the medium on either side of the fault is different.

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