Rapid rupture characterization for the 2023 MS 6.2 Jishishan earthquake

Abstract

On December 18, 2023, the Ms 6.2 Jishishan earthquake occurred in the northeastern region of the Tibetan Plateau, causing heavy casualties and property damage in Gansu and Qinghai provinces. In this study, we integrate space imaging geodesy, finite fault inversion, and back-projection method to decipher its rupture property, including fault geometry, coseismic slip distribution, rupture direction, and propagation speed. The results reveal that the seismogenic fault dips to the southwest at an angle of 29°. The major slip asperity is dominated by reverse slip and is concentrated within a depth range of 7–16 km, which explains the significant uplift near the epicenter observed by both the Sentinel-1 ascending and descending InSAR data. Moreover, the teleseismic array waveforms indicate a northwest propagating rupture with an overall slow rupture velocity of ∼1.91 km/s (AK array) or 1.01 km/s (AU array).