Surface rupture on a secondary fault associated with the August 8, 2020, Mw 5.1 Sparta North Carolina Earthquake

The Seismic Record
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Abstract

On August 8, 2020 northwest North Carolina experienced a Mw 5.1 earthquake that caused damage to buildings and roads in the city of Sparta. A regional centroid moment tensor solution shows the earthquake was the result of slip on a reverse fault with a minor strike-slip component. InSAR data, from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s ALOS2 satellite, reveal a deformation field that is more complex than expected from a single reverse fault earthquake. The data also reveal an apparent fault rupture at the Earth’s surface that caused damage to local roads. Modeling of the InSAR deformation field indicates the fault rupture is associated with a very shallow normal faulting event with an equivalent Mw of about 5.1, that overprinted the reverse fault deformation field and possibly occurred aseismically.

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Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Surface rupture on a secondary fault associated with the August 8, 2020, Mw 5.1 Sparta North Carolina Earthquake
Series title The Seismic Record
DOI 10.1785/0320210044
Volume 2
Issue 1
Publication Date March 24, 2022
Year Published 2022
Language English
Publisher Seismological Society of America
Contributing office(s) Earthquake Science Center
Description 9 p.
First page 59
Last page 67
Country United States
State North Carolina
City Sparta
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