Surface deformation associated with the 2015 M-w 8.3 Illapel earthquake revealed by satellite-based geodetic observations and its implications for the seismic cycle

Abstract In this study, we present inter-, co- and post-seismic displacements observed in the 2015 Illapel earthquake area by Global Positioning System (GPS) and Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (InSAR). RADARSAT-2, ALOS-2 and Sentinel-1A interferograms capture the co- and post-seismic displacements due to the Illapel earthquake. Based on a layered Earth structure, we modeled both co- and post-seismic faulting behaviors on the subduction interface of central Chile. The best-fit model shows that the coseismic rupture broke a 200 km × 200 km area with a maximum slip of 10 m at a depth of 20 km. Two distinct slip centers, likely controlled by local ramp-flat structure, are revealed. The total coseismic geodetic moment is 2.76 × 10 21 N m , equivalent to a moment magnitude 8.3. The accumulated afterslip in the first two months after the mainshock is observed on both sides of the coseismic rupture zone with both ascending and descending Sentinel-1A interferograms. A limited overlap zone between co- and post-seismic slip models can be observed, suggesting partitioning of the frictional properties within the Illapel earthquake rupture zone. The total afterslip releases ∼ 5.0 × 10 20 N m geodetic moment, which is equivalent to an earthquake of M w 7.7. The 2010 M w 8.8 Maule earthquake that occurred ∼400 km away from the Illapel earthquake epicenter could have exerted certain effects on the seismic cycle of the Illapel earthquake area. The seismic records from 2000 to 2015 imply that the rate of annual seismic moment release in the Illapel earthquake area dropped from 0.4 to 0.2 × 10 19 N m / yr after the Maule earthquake. Based on the forward modeling with the best-fit slip models determined in this study, we reproduce the local surface displacements before, during and after the Illapel earthquake. A rough deformation cycle, 105 ± 29 yr , calculated by using the coseismic displacements and interseismic rate is basically identical with the revisit interval of M8 events in the adjacent areas of the Illapel earthquake, suggesting that elastic rebound theory is applicable for the long-term prediction in this region.

[1]  Hiroo Kanamori,et al.  Rapidly Estimated Seismic Source Parameters for the 16 September 2015 Illapel, Chile Mw 8.3 Earthquake , 2016, Pure and Applied Geophysics.

[2]  P. Bird.  An updated digital model of plate boundaries , 2003 .

[3]  Anne Socquet,et al.  Interseismic coupling, segmentation and mechanical behavior of the central Chile subduction zone , 2012 .

[4]  L. Rivera,et al.  Coseismic Deformation from the 1999 Mw 7.1 Hector Mine, California, Earthquake as Inferred from InSAR and GPS Observations , 2002 .

[5]  Urs Wegmüller,et al.  Gamma SAR processor and interferometry software , 1997 .

[6]  Tim J. Wright,et al.  A spatially variable power law tropospheric correction technique for InSAR data , 2015 .

[7]  Z. Altamimi,et al.  ITRF2005 : A new release of the International Terrestrial Reference Frame based on time series of station positions and Earth Orientation Parameters , 2007 .

[8]  Masanobu Shimada,et al.  The 2010 Maule, Chile earthquake: Downdip rupture limit revealed by space geodesy , 2010 .

[9]  Marie-Pierre Doin,et al.  Systematic InSAR tropospheric phase delay corrections from global meteorological reanalysis data , 2011 .

[10]  Michael Bevis,et al.  Coseismic and postseismic slip associated with the 2010 Maule Earthquake, Chile: Characterizing the Arauco Peninsula barrier effect , 2013 .

[11]  Remko Scharroo,et al.  Generic Mapping Tools: Improved Version Released , 2013 .

[12]  David J. Wald,et al.  Slab1.0: A three‐dimensional model of global subduction zone geometries , 2012 .

[13]  Jianghui Geng,et al.  Slip segmentation and slow rupture to the trench during the 2015, Mw8.3 Illapel, Chile earthquake , 2016, Geophysical Research Letters.

[14]  M. Simons,et al.  A multiscale approach to estimating topographically correlated propagation delays in radar interferograms , 2010 .

[15]  D. Melgar,et al.  Local tsunami warnings: Perspectives from recent large events , 2016 .

[16]  H. Zebker,et al.  Fault Slip Distribution of the 1999 Mw 7.1 Hector Mine, California, Earthquake, Estimated from Satellite Radar and GPS Measurements , 2002 .

[17]  David A. Seal,et al.  The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission , 2007 .

[18]  Frederik Tilmann,et al.  The 2015 Illapel earthquake, central Chile: A type case for a characteristic earthquake? , 2016 .

[19]  Yehuda Bock,et al.  Parkfield earthquake: Stress-driven creep on a fault with spatially variable rate-and-state friction parameters , 2009 .

[20]  G. Feng,et al.  Shortcomings of InSAR for studying megathrust earthquakes: The case of the Mw9.0 Tohoku‐Oki earthquake , 2012 .

[21]  D. Lange,et al.  Aftershock seismicity and tectonic setting of the 2015 September 16 Mw 8.3 Illapel earthquake, Central Chile , 2016 .

[22]  The Large Chilean Historical Earthquakes of 1647, 1657, 1730, and 1751 from Contemporary Documents , 2012 .

[23]  Pedro Elosegui,et al.  The 2010 Mw 7.8 Mentawai earthquake: Very shallow source of a rare tsunami earthquake determined from tsunami field survey and near‐field GPS data , 2012 .

[24]  Maorong Ge,et al.  Retrieving real-time co-seismic displacements using GPS/GLONASS: a preliminary report from the September 2015 Mw 8.3 Illapel earthquake in Chile , 2016 .

[25]  M. Métois,et al.  Three‐dimensional displacement field of the 2015 Mw8.3 Illapel earthquake (Chile) from across‐ and along‐track Sentinel‐1 TOPS interferometry , 2016 .

[26]  E. Klein,et al.  Afterslip and viscoelastic relaxation model inferred from the large-scale post-seismic deformation following the 2010 Mw 8.8 Maule earthquake (Chile) , 2015 .

[27]  Yi Luo,et al.  Space Geodetic Observations and Modeling of 2016 Mw 5.9 Menyuan Earthquake: Implications on Seismogenic Tectonic Motion , 2016, Remote. Sens..

[28]  D. Carrizo,et al.  Abrupt change in the dip of the subducting plate beneath north Chile , 2012 .

[29]  H. Honda.  The mechanism of the earthquakes , 1957 .

[30]  Zhenhua Huang,et al.  Numerical modeling of the morphological change in Lhok Nga, west Banda Aceh, during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami: understanding tsunami deposits using a forward modeling method , 2012, Natural Hazards.

[31]  P. Liu,et al.  An analysis of 2004 Sumatra earthquake fault plane mechanisms and Indian Ocean tsunami , 2006 .

[32]  Alberto Refice,et al.  Impact of DEM-Assisted Coregistration on High-Resolution SAR Interferometry , 2011, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

[33]  Walter H. F. Smith,et al.  New, improved version of generic mapping tools released , 1998 .

[34]  Michael Eineder,et al.  Interferometric Processing of Sentinel-1 TOPS Data , 2016, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

[35]  Kelin Wang,et al.  Deformation cycles of subduction earthquakes in a viscoelastic Earth , 2012, Nature.

[36]  H. Kanamori.  The energy release in great earthquakes , 1977 .

[37]  Stuart P. Nishenko,et al.  Seismic potential for large and great interplate earthquakes along the Chilean and Southern Peruvian Margins of South America: A quantitative reappraisal , 1985 .

[38]  Tim J. Wright,et al.  Fault slip in the 1997 Manyi, Tibet earthquake from linear elastic modelling of InSAR displacements , 2007 .

[39]  冯万鹏,et al.  2008年10月当雄 M W 6.3级地震断层参数的InSAR反演及其构造意义 , 2010 .

[40]  ChengHu Zhou,et al.  Spatio-temporal rupture process of the 2008 great Wenchuan earthquake , 2009 .

[41]  R. Hanssen.  Radar Interferometry: Data Interpretation and Error Analysis , 2001 .

[42]  Steven N. Ward,et al.  An inversion for slip distribution and fault shape from geodetic observations of the 1983, Borah Peak, Idaho, Earthquake , 1986 .

[43]  James Jackson,et al.  The 2010 MW 6.8 Yushu (Qinghai, China) earthquake: Constraints provided by InSAR and body wave seismology , 2011 .

[44]  R. Madariaga,et al.  The Seismic Sequence of the 16 September 2015 Mw 8.3 Illapel, Chile, Earthquake , 2016 .

[45]  M. Bevis,et al.  Crustal motion in the zone of the 1960 Chile earthquake: Detangling earthquake‐cycle deformation and forearc‐sliver translation , 2007 .

[46]  Gabi Laske,et al.  CRUST 5.1: A global crustal model at 5° × 5° , 1998 .

[47]  Alberto Moreira,et al.  Coregistration of interferometric SAR images using spectral diversity , 2000, IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote. Sens..

[48]  Mehrez Zribi,et al.  Analysis of Sentinel-1 Radiometric Stability and Quality for Land Surface Applications , 2016, Remote. Sens..

[49]  Marie-Pierre Doin,et al.  Improving InSAR geodesy using Global Atmospheric Models , 2014 .

[50]  P. Segall,et al.  Detection of a locked zone at depth on the Parkfield, California, segment of the San Andreas Fault , 1987 .

[51]  Marie-Pierre Doin,et al.  New Radar Interferometric Time Series Analysis Toolbox Released , 2013 .

[52]  Rene Preusker,et al.  Advanced InSAR atmospheric correction: MERIS/MODIS combination and stacked water vapour models , 2009 .

[53]  Rongjiang Wang,et al.  PSGRN/PSCMP - a new code for calculating co- and post-seismic deformation, geoid and gravity changes based on the viscoelastic-gravitational dislocation theory , 2006, Comput. Geosci..

[54]  Linlin Li,et al.  Numerical simulation of erosion and deposition at the Thailand Khao Lak coast during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami , 2014, Natural Hazards.

[55]  S. Beck,et al.  Source characteristics of historic earthquakes along the central Chile subduction Askew et alzone , 1998 .

[56]  Yong-Sik Cho,et al.  Runup of solitary waves on a circular Island , 1995, Journal of Fluid Mechanics.

[57]  Kenneth W. Hudnut,et al.  The 2014 Mw 6.1 South Napa Earthquake: A Unilateral Rupture with Shallow Asperity and Rapid Afterslip , 2015 .

[58]  Xiaohua Xu,et al.  Source characteristics of the 2015 M W 7.8 gorkha (Nepal) earthquake and its M W 7.2 aftershock from space geodesy , 2017 .

[59]  T. Ishibe,et al.  Source model of the 16 September 2015 Illapel, Chile, Mw 8.4 earthquake based on teleseismic and tsunami data , 2016 .

[60]  Michael Bevis,et al.  A high-resolution, time-variable afterslip model for the 2010 Maule Mw = 8.8, Chile megathrust earthquake , 2013 .