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Asperity break after 12 years: The M w 6.4 2015 Lefkada (Greece) earthquake
Author(s) -
Sokos E.,
Zahradník J.,
Gallovič F.,
Serpetsidaki A.,
Plicka V.,
Kiratzi A.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2016gl069427
Subject(s) - aftershock , seismology , geology , asperity (geotechnical engineering) , seismic gap , sinistral and dextral , slip (aerodynamics) , transform fault , extensional definition , fault (geology) , seismic moment , sequence (biology) , tectonics , geotechnical engineering , physics , genetics , biology , thermodynamics
The M w 6.4 earthquake sequence of 2015 in western Greece is analyzed using seismic data. Multiple point source modeling, nonlinear slip patch, and linear slip inversions reveal a coherent rupture image with directivity toward the southwest and several moment release episodes, reflected in the complex aftershock distribution. The key feature is that the 2015 earthquake ruptured a strong asperity, which was left unbroken in between two large subevents of the M w 6.2 Lefkada doublet in 2003. This finding and the well‐analyzed Cephalonia earthquake sequence of 2014 provide strong evidence of segmentation of the major dextral Cephalonia‐Lefkada Transform Fault (CTF), being related to extensional duplex transform zones. We propose that the duplexes extend farther to the north and that the CTF runs parallel to the western coast of Lefkada and Cephalonia Islands, considerably closer to the inhabited islands than previously thought. Generally, this study demonstrates faulting complexity across short time scales (earthquake doublets) and long time scales (seismic gaps).