Analysis of Peak Ground Acceleration and Seismogenic Fault Characteristics of the Mw7.8 Earthquake in Turkey

Abstract

Featured Application: This paper investigates the peak ground acceleration (PGA) and seismogenic fault characteristics of the Mw7.8 earthquake that struck Turkey on 6 February 2023. The paper identifies the near-fault effect, the fault locking segment effect, and the trampoline effect of the earthquake, and presents a detailed spatial distribution of PGA. The featured application of this work is in seismic engineering and disaster prevention, where the PGA and fault characteristics are essential for assessing the seismic demand and capacity of structures, as well as the potential damage and loss induced by earthquakes. This paper also enhances the understanding of the seismogenic mechanism, damage mode, characteristics, and strong earthquake law of the Turkey earthquake, which can facilitate the improvement of the seismic design codes and emergency response plans in Turkey and other regions with similar tectonic settings. A Mw7.8 earthquake struck Turkey on 6 February 2023, causing severe casualties and economic losses. This paper investigates the characteristics of strong ground motion and seismogenic fault of the earthquake. We collected and processed the strong ground motion records of 379 stations using Matlab, SeismoSignal, and Surfer software: Matlab (Version R2016a), SeismoSignal (Version 5.1.0), and Surfer (Version 23.0.15), and obtained the peak ground acceleration (PGA) contour map. We analyzed the near-fault effect, the fault locking segment effect, and the trampoline effect of the earthquake based on the spatial distribution of PGA, the fault geometry, and slip distribution. We found that the earthquake generated a very strong ground motion concentration effect in the near-fault area, with the maximum PGA exceeding 2000 cm/s2. However, the presence of fault locking segments influenced the spatial distribution of ground motion, resulting in four significant PGA high-value concentration areas at a local dislocation, a turning point, and the end of the East Anatolian Fault. We also revealed for the first time the typical manifestation of the trampoline effect in this earthquake, which was characterized by a large vertical acceleration with a positive direction significantly larger than the negative direction. This paper provides an important reference for understanding the seismogenic mechanism, damage mode, characteristics, and strong earthquake law of the Turkey earthquake.