2023 Earthquake Doublet in Türkiye Reveals the Complexities of the East Anatolian Fault Zone: Insights from Aftershock Patterns and Moment Tensor Solutions

Abstract

Abstract The East Anatolian Fault Zone (EAFZ) is a 700-km-long left-lateral transform fault system along the boundary between the Anatolian and Arabian plates. In the interseismic period, the eastern segments of the EAFZ display relatively uniform seismic activity, whereas the western segments exhibit seismic gaps, localized clusters, and extensive diffuse zones. Hence, our understanding of the geometry and kinematics of the western and northern segments remain limited. The occurrences of the 6 February 2023 Mw 7.8 Kahramanmaraş on the main branch and Mw 7.6 Elbistan earthquakes on the northern branch have led to complex aftershock activity shedding light on the nature of these relatively silent segments. In this study, to better understand the complexities of the fault, we constructed a comprehensive catalog of ∼32,000 earthquakes that occurred between 6 February 2023 and 30 March 2023, using a deep-neural-network-based picker. In addition, 170 earthquake source mechanisms with Mw 3.5+ were obtained from regional moment tensor inversion. The spatial distribution of the aftershocks shows that most of the activity clusters around the fault bends and major depressions. Previously unmapped and inactive secondary faults of varying lengths are identified within these geometrical complexities. The new seismological observations provide compelling evidence of extension along the Karasu valley, compression occurring along the Erkenek segment, reactivation of basin faults near the Narlı fault zone and the persistent shallow seismic creep of the Pütürge segment. The analysis of seismicity and earthquake source mechanisms along the northern branch reveals the structures of previously inactive faults, both near the extensional Göksun bend in the west and the compressional Nurhak fault complex in the east. In summary, we illustrate the intricacies of previously quiet segments of the EAFZ and aim to gain a deeper understanding of how secondary faults and geometrical discontinuities along the EAFZ played a role in shaping the 2023 Türkiye doublet earthquakes.