Publication Date:
2019
Description:
Abstract
When analyzing the rupture of a large earthquake, geodetic data are often critical. These data are generally characterized by either a good temporal or a good spatial resolution, but rarely both. As a consequence, many studies analyze the co‐seismic rupture with data that also include one or more days of early post‐seismic deformation. Here, we invert simultaneously for the co‐ and post‐seismic slip with the condition that the sum of the two models remains compatible with data covering the two slip episodes. We validate the benefits of this approach with a toy model and an application to the 2009 Mw6.3 L'Aquila earthquake, using a Bayesian approach and accounting for epistemic uncertainties. For the L'Aquila earthquake, we find that if early post‐seismic deformation is not explicitly acknowledged co‐seismic signal, co‐seismic slip models may overestimate the peak amplitude while long‐term post‐seismic models may largely underestimate the total post‐seismic slip amplitude. This example illustrates how the proposed approach could improve our comprehension of the seismic cycle, of fault frictional properties, and the spatial and temporal relationship between seismic rupture, afterslip and aftershocks.
Print ISSN:
2169-9313
Electronic ISSN:
2169-9356
Topics:
Geosciences
,
Physics