Earthquake and Moment Tensor Catalogs of the 2015-2017 Pamir Earthquake Sequence

Cite as:

Bloch, Wasja; Schurr, Bernd; Yuan, Xiaohui; Xu, Qiang; Zhao, Junmeng; Murodkulov, Shokhruhk; Oimuhammadzoda, Ilhomjon (2022): Earthquake and Moment Tensor Catalogs of the 2015-2017 Pamir Earthquake Sequence. GFZ Data Services. https://doi.org/10.5880/fidgeo.2022.007

Status

I N R E V I E W : Bloch, Wasja; Schurr, Bernd; Yuan, Xiaohui; Xu, Qiang; Zhao, Junmeng; Murodkulov, Shokhruhk; Oimuhammadzoda, Ilhomjon (2022): Earthquake and Moment Tensor Catalogs of the 2015-2017 Pamir Earthquake Sequence. GFZ Data Services. https://doi.org/10.5880/fidgeo.2022.007

Abstract

A sequence of three strong (M W 7.2–6.4) and several moderate (M W 4.4–5.7) earthquakes struck the Pamir Plateau and surrounding mountain ranges of Tajikistan, China, and Kyrgyzstan in 2015–2017. With a local seismic network in operation in the Xinjiang province since August 2015, an aftershock network on the Pamir Plateau of Tajikistan since February 2016, and additional permanent regional seismic stations, we were able to record the succession of the fore-, main-, and aftershock sequences at local distances with good azimuthal coverage. We located 11,784 seismic events and determined the moment tensor for 33 earthquakes. The seismicity delineates the major tectonic structures of the Pamir, i.e., the thrusts that absorb shortening along the plateau thrust front, and the strike-slip and normal faults that dissect the Plateau into a westward extruding and a northward advancing block. Fault ruptures were activated subsequently at increasing distances from the initial M W 7.2 Sarez. All mainshock areas but the initial one exhibited foreshock seismicity which was not modulated by the occurrence of the earlier earthquakes.

The tabular ASCII data of the seismic event catalog consist of origin date, time, location, depth and magnitude of the events, along with the quality measures: number of P- and S-wave arrival time picks, location root-mean-square misfit and localization method.

The tabular ASCII data of the moment tensor catalog consist of origin date, time, location, the six
independent components of the moment tensor, the moment magnitude, and the orientation of the preferred fault plane parameterized as fault strike, dip and rake.

Authors

Bloch, Wasja;Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
Schurr, Bernd;GFZ German Research Centre for Geosiences, Potsdam, Germany
Yuan, Xiaohui;GFZ German Research Centre for Geosiences, Potsdam, Germany
Xu, Qiang;Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Zhao, Junmeng;Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Murodkulov, Shokhruhk;Institute of Geology, Earthquake Engineering and Seismology of the Academy Science of the Republic of Tajikistan
Oimuhammadzoda, Ilhomjon;Tajikistan Academy of Sciences

Contact

Bloch, Wasja; Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada;
Schurr, Bernd; GFZ German Research Centre for Geosiences, Potsdam, Germany;
Yuan, Xiaohui; GFZ German Research Centre for Geosiences, Potsdam, Germany;

Keywords

Pamir, Tajikistan, China, Xingjiang, disaster > natural disaster > geological disaster, environment > geophysical environment, geological process > seismic activity > earthquake, land > world > Asia > Central Asia, physical process > diffusion