The 2022 Hormozgan Doublet Earthquake: Two Blind Thrusts-Related Folding in Zagros Fold-And-Thrust Belt, Southeast Iran

Abstract

A doublet earthquake event including two main shocks with a magnitude larger than Mw 6.0 occurred on 1 July 2022 in the Zagros fold-and-thrust belt, southeast Iran. The coseismic InSAR deformation field shows that this event caused significant surface uplift due to fault-related folding in the seismic zone. The estimated preferred faulting model suggests that a higher dip angle fault (maximum slip of ∼1.1 m), and an overlying gentle dipping fault (maximum slip of ∼1.2 m) within the Bandar-e-Lengeh Anticline, are responsible for the first and second main shocks, respectively. The calculated Coulomb failure stress change suggests that the first main shock and its Mw 5.7 aftershock have a significantly positive triggering effect in the second main shock. The accumulated interseismic strain should have been partly released by the two main shocks. Finally, the salt diapir activity may affect the generation of the earthquake in the seismic zone.