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The 2020 Mw 6.8 Elaziğ (Turkey) earthquake reveals rupture behavior of the East Anatolian Fault
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  • Léa Pousse Beltran,
  • Edwin Nissen,
  • Eric Bergman,
  • Musavver Didem Cambaz,
  • Élyse Gaudreau,
  • Ezgi Karasozen,
  • Fengzhou Tan
Léa Pousse Beltran
University of Victoria, University of Victoria, University of Victoria

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Edwin Nissen
University of Victoria, University of Victoria, University of Victoria
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Eric Bergman
Global Seismological Services, Global Seismological Services, Global Seismological Services
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Musavver Didem Cambaz
Boğaziçi Üniversitesi, Boğaziçi Üniversitesi, Boğaziçi Üniversitesi
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Élyse Gaudreau
University of Victoria, University of Victoria, University of Victoria
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Ezgi Karasozen
Alaska Earthquake Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks,, Alaska Earthquake Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks,, Alaska Earthquake Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks,
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Fengzhou Tan
University of Victoria, University of Victoria, University of Victoria
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Abstract

The 2020 Mw 6.8 Elazig earthquake was the largest along the Eastern Anatolian Fault (EAF) in over a century, providing valuable insights into its rupture behavior. We use satellite geodesy and seismology to detail the mainshock rupture, postseismic deformation and aftershocks. The mainshock propagated mostly westwards at 2 km/s from a nucleation point on an abrupt 10° fault bend. Only one end of the rupture corresponds to an established EAF segment boundary, and the earthquake may have propagated into the slip zone of the 1874 M 7.1 Golcuk Golu earthquake. It exhibits a pronounced (80%) shallow slip deficit, only a small proportion of which is recovered by early aseismic afterslip. The slow rupture velocity, shallow slip deficit and low afterslip are characteristic of earthquakes hosted by faults of low-to-intermediate structural maturity, indicating that faults continue to evolve in important ways even as they accrue cumulative off sets of tens of kilometers