Investigating the aftershocks and Coulomb stress change of the 2017 Ezgeleh earthquake with a moment magnitude of 7.3, West of Iran

Authors

1 Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, Golestan University, Iran

2 Road, Housing and Urban Development Research Center, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

The Ezgeleh earthquake (Mw: 7.3) occurred in November 2017 in the north-western Sarpole-Zahab city of Kermanshah, followed by many aftershocks. This research used the Coulomb stress change method to investigate the correlation between spatial distribution of aftershocks and stress change patterns. The basis of this method is that an earthquake can change the stress field of nearby areas and may affect the occurrence of subsequent earthquakes. The aftershock distribution pattern may be evaluated from the Coulomb stress change maps and profiles, which are calculated using the mainshock's location, magnitude, focal mechanism and, depth, and the rupture's length and width. Based on The seismicity map, the distribution of the aftershocks of the Ezgeleh earthquake is heterogeneous and concentrated in several dense clusters with different trends. Due to the thrust mechanism of the mainshock and thrust and strike-slip mechanisms aftershocks, the Coulomb stress changes were calculated based on two types of receiver faults: specified and optimal strike-slip and thrust geometries. The density map of aftershocks was also drawn to check the results. The results show that the best correlation between the distribution pattern of aftershocks and Coulomb stress changes maps and profiles is observed for the case of the optimal strike-slip receiver fault. In this map, the pattern of the stress-increased areas are remarkably similar to the areas of increased density of aftershocks (aftershock clusters) with two north-south and east-west trends. The diversity in the trends and mechanism of faults in the region may cause heterogeneity in the distribution pattern of aftershocks.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

Agh-Atabai, M., Jafari Hajati, F., 2014. Coulomb stress changes and its correlation with aftershocks of recent Iranian reverse earthquakes. Arabian Journal of Geosciences 8(5), 2983-2995.‏ http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12517-014-1359-1.
Alavi, M., 1994. Tectonics of the Zagros orogenic belt of Iran: new data and interpretations. Tectonophysics 229(3-4), 211-238.‏ https://doi.org/10.1016/0040-1951(94)90030-2.
Alkan, H., Büyüksaraç, A., Bektaş, Ö., Işık, E., 2021. Coulomb stress change before and after 24.01. 2020 Sivrice (Elazığ) earthquake (Mw= 6.8) on the East Anatolian Fault Zone. Arabian Journal of Geosciences 14(23), 2648. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12517-021-09080-1.
Ambraseys, N.N., Melville, C.P., 1982. A History of Persian Earthquakes. Cambridge University Press, London, p. 219. https://doi.org/10.1002/eqe.4290110412.
Ansari, Sh., 2013. Coulomb stress changes in the earthquake 1990 Rudbar. PhD thesis. Shiraz University (in Persian).
Baker, C., Jackson, J., Priestley, K., 1993. Earthquakes on the Kazerun Line in the Zagros Mountains of Iran: strike-slip faulting within a fold-and-thrust belt. Geophysical Journal International 115(1), 41-61. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-246X.1993.tb05587.x.
Berberian, M., 1981. Active faulting and tectonics of Iran. Zagros Hindu Kush Himalaya Geodynamic Evolution 3, 33-69.‏ ‏ https://doi.org/10.1029/GD003p0033.
Berberian, M., 1995. Master Blind” Thrust Faults Hidden Under the Zagros Folds: Active Basement Tectonics and Surface Morphotectonics. Tectonophysics 241(3-4), 193-224. https://doi.org/10.1016/0040-1951(94)00185-C.
Berberian, M., 2014. Earthquakes and coseismic surface faulting on the Iranian Plateau: a historical, social and physical approach. In: Shroder Jr, J.E., (Ed.), Elsevier, Developments in Earth Surface Processes 17, p. 714.
BHRC, Building and Housing Research Center , On web site https://www.bhrc.ac.ir.
Chan, C.H., Ma, K.F., 2004. Possibility of forecasting aftershock distributions from stress change: A case study of inland Taiwan earthquakes. Terrestrial Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences  15(3), 503-521.‏ http://dx.doi.org/10.3319/TAO.2004.15.3.503(EP).
Chinnery, M.A., 1963. The stress changes that accompany strike-slip faulting. Seismological Society of America 53(5), 921-932. https://doi.org/10.1785/BSSA0530050921.
Engdahl, E.R., Jackson, J.A., Myers, S.C., Bergman, E.A., Priestley, K., 2006. Relocation and assessment of seismicity in the Iran region. Geophysical Journal International 167(2), 761-778.‏ https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-246X.2006.03127.x. 
Fathian, A., Atzori, S., Nazari, H., Reicherter, K., Salvi, S., Svigkas, N., Tatar, M., Tolomei, C., Yaminifard, F., 2021. Complex co-and postseismic faulting of the 2017–2018 seismic sequence in western Iran revealed by InSAR and seismic data. Remote Sensing of Environment 253, 112224.‏ https://doi:10.1016/j.rse.2020.112224.
Gardner, J., Knopoff, L., 1974. Is the sequence of earthquakes in southern California, withaftershocks removed, Poissonian Seismological Society of America 64(5), 1363-1367. https://doi.org/10.1785/BSSA0640051363.
Gutenberg, B., Richter, C.F., 1944. Frequency of earthquakes in California. Seismological Society of America 34(4), 185–188.
Hainzl, S., Enescu, B., Cocco, M., Woessner, J., Catalli, F., Wang, R., Roth, F., 2009. Aftershock modeling based on uncertain stress calculations. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth 114(B5). https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JB006011. 
Harris, R.A., Simpson, R.W., 1992. Changes in static stress on southern California faults after the 1992 Landers earthquake. Nature 360(6401), 251-254.‏ https://doi.org/10.1038/360251a0.
Harris, R.A., Simpson, R.W., Reasenberg, P.A., 1995. Influence of static stress changes on earthquake locations in southern California, Nature 375(6528), 221–224.
Harris, R.A., Simpson, R.W., 1996. In the shadow of 1857‐the effect of the great Ft. Tejon earthquake on subsequent earthquakes in southern California. Geophysical Research Letters 23(3), 229-232.‏
Harris, R.A., 1998. Introduction to special section: Stress triggers, stress shadows, and implications for seismic hazard. Geophysical Research 103(B10), 24347–24358. https://doi.org/10.1029/98JB01576.
Hessami, Kh., Jamali, F.,Tabasi., 2003. Map of active fault of iran, International Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Seismology.
Huang, Z., Zhang, G., Shan, X., Gong, W., Zhang, Y., Li, Y., 2019. Co-seismic deformation and fault slip model of the 2017 Mw 7.3 Darbandikhan, Iran–Iraq earthquake inferred from D-InSAR measurements. Remote Sensing 11(21), 2521.‏ https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11212521.
IRSC, Iranian Seismological Center, On web site http://irsc.ut.ac.ir
Ishibe, T., Shimazaki, K., Tsuruoka, H., Yamanaka, Y., Satake, K., 2011. Correlation between Coulomb stress changes imparted by large historical strike-slip earthquakes and current seismicity in Japan. Earth,  planets and space 63(3), 301-314.‏ http://dx.doi.org/10.5047/eps.2011.01.008.
Jackson, J., Mckenzie, D.P., 1984. Active tectonics of Alpine-Himalayan belt between western Turkey and Pakistan. Geophysical Journal International 77(1), 185-264.  https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-246X.1984.tb01931.x.
Jafari Hajati., 2012. Studying stress state pattern and aftershocks of large earthquakes twenty one century in Iran. M.Sc. thesis. Golestan University (In Persian with English abstract).
Kilb, D., Gomberg, J., Bodin, P., 2002. Aftershock triggering by complete Coulomb stress changes. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth 107(B4). http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2001JB000202.
King, G.C.P., Stein, R.S., Lin, J., 1994. Static stress changes and triggering of earthquakes. Seismological Society of America 84(3), 935–953. https://doi.org/10.1785/BSSA0840030935.
Kuang, J., Ge, L., Metternicht, G.I., Ng, A.H.M., Wang, H., Zare, M., Kamranzad, F., 2019. Coseismic deformation and source model of the 12 November 2017 MW 7.3 Kermanshah Earthquake (Iran–Iraq border) investigated through DInSAR measurements. International journal of remote sensing 40(2), 532-554.‏ https://doi.org/10.1080/01431161.2018.1514542.
Lin, J., Stein, R.S., 2004. Stress triggering in thrust and subduction earthquakes, and stress interaction between the southern San Andreas and nearby thrust and strike-slip faults. Geophysical Research 109(B2). https://doi.org/ 10.1029/ 2003JB002607.
Maggi, A., Jackson, J.A., Priestley, K., Baker, C., 2000. A re-assessment of focal depth distribution in southern Iran, the Tien Shan and northern India; do earthquakes really occur in the continental mantle? Geophysical Journal International 143(3), 629–661. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-246X.2000.00254.x.
Maleki Asayesh, B., 2023. Coulomb stress change based on Rigan & Ahar – Varzeghan Earthquakes, 2013, M.Sc thesis, International Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Seismology (In Persian with English abstract).
Mirzaei, N., Gao, M. Chen, Y.T., 1998. Seismic sources regionalization for seismic zoning of Iran: Major seismotectonic provinces. Journal of Earthquake Prediction Reasearch 7, 465-495.
Nissen, E., Ghods, A., Karasözen, E., Elliott, J. R., Barnhart, W. D., Bergman, E. A., Hayes, G.P., Jamal-Reyhani, M., Nemati, M., Tan, F., Abdulnaby, W., Benz, H.M., P.Shahvar, M., Talebian, M., Chen, L., 2019. The 12 November 2017 M w 7.3 Ezgeleh‐Sarpolzahab (Iran) earthquake and active tectonics of the Lurestan Arc.  Geophysical Research: Solid Earth 124(2), 2124-2152.‏ https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JB016221.
Ogata, Y., 2006. Monitoring of anomaly in the aftershock sequence of the 2005 earthquake of M7.0 off coast of the western Fukuoka, Japan, by the ETAS model Geophysical Research 33(1). https://doi.org/10.1029/2005GL024405.
Ogata, Y., Toda, S., 2010. Bridging great earthquake doublets through silent slip: On- and off-fault aftershocks of the 2006 Kuril Island subduction earthquake toggled by a slow slip on the outer rise normal fault the 2007 great earthquake Geophysical 115(B6). https:// doi:10.1029/2009JB006777.
Ogata, Y., 2007. Seismicity and geodetic anomalies in a wide area preceding the Niigata-Ken-Chuetsu earthquake of 23 October 2004, central Japan Geophysical 112(B10).  https://doi:10.1029/2006JB004697.
Okada, Y., 1992. Internal deformation due to shear and tensile faults in a half-space. Bulletin of Seismological Society of America 82(2), 1018– 1040. https://doi.org/10.1785/BSSA0820021018.
Pirdadi, Kh., Agh Atabai, M., Eshaghi, A; 2023. Investigating the temporal multifractal pattern of the aftershock sequence of the 2017 Ezgeleh earthquake (Mw: 7.3). Earth Science 33(2), 169-182 (In Persian with English abstract).
Reasenberg, P.A., Simpson, R.W., 1992. Response of regional seismicity to the static stress change produced by the Loma Prieta earthquake. Science 255(5052), 1687-1690.‏ https://doi.org/10.1126/science.255.5052.1687.           
Simpson, R.W., Reasenberg, P.A., 1994. Earthquake-induced static stress changes on central California faults, in the Loma Prieta, California Earthquake of October 17, 1989, tectonic processes and models. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1550.
Snyder, D.B., Barazangi, M., 1986. Deep crustal structure and flexure of the Arabian plate beneath the Zagros collisional mountain belt as inferred from gravity observation. Tectonics 5(3), 361–373. https://doi.org/10.1029/TC005i003p00361.
Stein R.S., 1999. The role of stress transfer in earthquake occurrence. US Geological Survey MS 977 Menlo Park, California 94025 USA 402(6762), 605 – 609. https://doi: 10.1038/45144.
Stiphout, T., Zhuang, J., Marsan, D., 2012. Seismicity declustering. Community Online Resource for Statistical Seismicity Analysis. https://doi: 10.5078/corssa-52382934.
Tatar, M., Ghaemmaghamian, M.R., Yaminifard, F., Hesamiazar, Kh., Ansari, A., Firouzi, E., 2017. Report of 12 Novamber 2017 Sarpol-e- Zahab earthquake of Kermanshah province, International Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Seismology (In Persian with English abstract).
Toda, S., Stein, R.S., Reasenberg, P.A., Dieterich, J.H., Yoshida, A., 1998. Stress transferred by the 1995 Mw= 6.9 Kobe, Japan, shock: Effect on aftershocks and future earthquake probabilities. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth 103(10), 24543-24565.‏ http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/98JB00765.
Toda, S., Stein, R.S., Richards‐Dinger, K., Bozkurt, S.B., 2005. Forecasting the evolution of seismicity in southern California: Animations built on earthquake stress transfer.  Geophysical Research: Solid Earth110(5).‏ https://doi:10.1029/2004JB003415.
Weertman, J., Weertman, J.R., 1964. Elastic Dislocation Theory. MacMillan Co. 573-574.
Yang, Ch., Han, B., Zhao, Ch., Du, J., Zhang, D., Zhu, S., 2019. Co- and post-seismic Deformation Mechanisms of the MW 7.3 Iran Earthquake (2017) Revealed by Sentinel-1 InSAR Observations. Remote Sensing 11(4), 418. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11040418.
Yazdanfar, K., Agh Atabai, M., Raghimi, M., 2016. Investigating the relationship between Columbus stress changes and the spatial distribution of aftershocks: in order to estimate the depth of earthquakes in the Zagros belt, Advanced Applied Geology 7(1), 87-95 (In Persian with English abstract). https://doi.org/10.22055/aag.2017.13072.
Yue, H., Zhang, Z., Chen, Y. J., 2008. Interaction between adjacent left-lateral strike-slip faults and thrust faults: the 1976 Songpan earthquake sequence. Chinese Science Bulletin 53, 2520-2526.‏ http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11434-008-0210-z.
Zamani, B., 2009. Study of tectonic stress state of crust of Iran. Ph. D. thesis. Shiraz University (In Persian with English abstract).
Zare, M., Kamranzad, F., Parcharidis, I., Tsironi, V., 2017. Preliminary report of Mw 7. 3 Sarpol-e Zahab, Iran earthquake on November 12, 2017, EMSC report on.1.
Advanced Applied Geology
Volume 14, Issue 1
April 2024
Pages 146-166

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics