Two powerful earthquakes struck Türkiye on 6 February 2023. The initial rupture was on the Dead Sea fault zone, yet maximum displacements and energy release [moment magnitude (Mw) 7.8] occurred 24 seconds later when rupture transferred to the East Anatolian fault zone (EAFZ). More than 7 hours later, a Mw 4.5 aftershock at the junction of the EAFZ with the east-west striking Çardak-Sürgü fault was followed 86 minutes later by the second large (Mw 7.5) earthquake, suggesting a causal relationship. We provide quantitative ground and aerial documentation of surface offsets and kinematics from the slipped faults, providing important data on surface deformation during large continental strike-slip earthquakes, rupture propagation mechanisms, and how slip may be transferred between complex fault systems. We also provide insight into how slip along linked fault systems accommodates global plate motions.

Jiannan Meng, Timothy Kusky*, Walter D. Mooney*, Erdin Bozkurt, Mehmet Nuri Bodur, Lu Wang. Surface Deformations of the February 6, 2023 Earthquake Sequence, eastern Türkiye, Science 383, 298-305 (2024). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adj3770

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