Things to Know About Kahramanmaras-Centered Earthquakes in 5 Questions: Is a large aftershock expected in the region?

Things to know about Kahramanmaras -centered earthquakes in 5 questions: Is a large aftershock expected in the region?

After the 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes that shook Turkey and Syria in Kahramanmaraş, approximately 16 thousand people lost their lives and thousands were ijured in both countries. While state employees and volunteers continue to work with great devotion under the rubble in the freezing cold, how long the aftershocks in the region will last and what their size will be remains on the agenda. In addition to this, it is also a matter of curiosity which other earthquakes can trigger Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquakes… In this article, “How were the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquakes triggered?”, “How long will the aftershocks last?” last?”, “What changes occurred in the fault lines after the earthquake?” and more.

1. HOW POWERFUL IS A 7.7-DIMENSIONAL EARTHQUAKE?

Citing the example of earthquake surface waves to the US Geological Survey (USSG), he said, “Waves tend to propagate outward long after a stone has fallen into the water. The same is true for earthquakes. The effects of an earthquake can be felt at various intensities from far away. He did an explanation.

According to the USSG, the slippage of the fault lines that triggered the 7.7 magnitude earthquake occurred in about 75 seconds. For most people in Turkey, this earthquake likely resulted in one to two minutes of shaking. Later, the surface waves produced by the earthquake spread all over the world.

The shaking of the earthquakes in Turkey was felt by seismometers around the world.
Stating that the seismometers in the Global Seismic Network are sensitive enough to detect a coin placed under the continental plates in North America, the institution announced that the earthquakes in Kahramanmaras were recorded by ultra-sensitive seismometers even in Canada, Alaska, Mexico and Australia.

Graphic: Kahramanmaras-centered earthquakes were recorded by seismometers (USGS) all over the world.

About Kahramanmaras-Centered Earthquakes

2. 7.6 POST-SHIP DIMENSIONAL EARTHQUAKE? WHY WAS IT SO BIG?

The researchers noted that it is possible for aftershocks to continue weeks or months after the main earthquake, but will decrease in size and frequency as time progresses.

According to the USGS, there is a 1 in 15 chance that a given earthquake will experience a “pre-shock” before a larger earthquake. However, this was not the case in Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquakes. The most suitable example for this situation is the earthquakes that occurred in California, USA on July 4-6, 2019. Two days after the main 6.4 magnitude earthquake, the epicenter of which was Ridgecrest, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake occurred. in the same city

After the first 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Turkey at 04:15 on Monday near Nurdağı, a second 7.6 magnitude earthquake occurred approximately nine hours later. Normally this could easily be considered an aftershock (despite the unusual intensity). However, experts say that this situation in Turkey is a more complex process. So why?

Earthquake expert Judith Hubbard said in a statement on the subject, “If we look at the earthquake map of the region and note both the 7.7 magnitude earthquake and the next 7.6 magnitude earthquake, we see two different movement groups: This is a 7.6 magnitude earthquake. . An earthquake on the same fault. ” “This means there was no aftershock, but rather a secondary mainshock on a different fault triggered by the initial 7.7 magnitude earthquake in the south.”

About Kahramanmaras-Centered Earthquakes

WHAT TRIGGERED THE KAHRAMANMARAS CENTERED EARTHQUAKE?

Turkey is located in a highly earthquake-prone region as it is located at the junction of three tectonic plates, making it a region of high seismic unrest. “Since 1970, only three earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater have been recorded in this region,” the USGS wrote. “The largest was magnitude 6.7, occurring on January 24, 2020.” He did an explanation.

The USGS, on the other hand, publishes information about the mechanism that triggers the earthquake after each earthquake. The agency concluded that the 7.7-magnitude earthquake was triggered either by two faults moving laterally against each other or by a strike-slip. In this case, a “left-lateral” strike-shift occurred as both masses of the earth’s crust were moving to the left relative to the other.

Graphic: A depiction of plate movements that initiated the 7.7 magnitude earthquake (USGS).

The USGS reported that all relevant earthquake activity centered in Kahramanmaraş occurred within the “Eastern Anatolian Fault System” shown in the map below.

Along the East Anatolian Fault, the Anatolian and Arabian plates slide and rub against each other. This results in ever-increasing stress, which is occasionally released with devastating changes. (Further northeast, the Arabian Plate collides with the Bitlis-Zagros Fold and the Eurasian Plate in the Thrust Belt, forming the Zagreb, Alburz, and Caucasus mountains.)

Graphic: Length map of ruptured fault (USGS).

Within the scope of the East Anatolian Fault, the Arabian Plate moves approximately 15 millimeters to the northwest and the Anatolian Plate moves to the west-southwest direction of 22 millimeters per year. Also, the two plates are moving relative to each other at a rate of about 15 millimeters per year. However, the two landmasses slipped roughly 3 to 3.5 meters during the 7.7-magnitude earthquake, according to the USGS. The largest slip occurred about 50 kilometers from the epicenter of the earthquake.

4. WHEN DID THE GROUND MOVE IN THE EARTHQUAKE?

However, the ground also moved about 40 centimeters per second during the earthquake, according to the USSG.

5. HOW MANY YEARS HAS THE TENSION IN FAULT LINES INCREASED?

Understanding how long earthquakes have been going on can be estimated using simple math, according to the USSG.

The magnitude of the slip (3 meters) along the East Anatolian Fault can be divided by the relative annual movement of the plates (15 millimeters). This means 200 years of stress accumulation.

About Kahramanmaras-Centered Earthquakes