Preseismic deformation associated with the 2014 Ms7.3 Yutian earthquake derived from GPS data

Based on analysis of the GPS data during 1999-2007,2009-2011,and 2011-2013 mainly from the Crustal Motion Observation Network of China,we obtained the GPS horizontal velocity field,the GPS strain rate field,and the profiles across the southwestern segment of the Altyn Tagh Fault zone and its adjacent regions and identified the different characteristics of horizontal crustal deformation fields and profiles during different periods. The results show that,before the February 12,2014,Ms7. 3 Yutian earthquake,the laevorotation deformation along the southwestern segment of the Altyn Tagh Fault zone increased about 3. 3 mm /a during 2011-2013,relative to that in 2009-2011,and the GPS strain rate field distributed in the southeastern segment of the Altyn Tagh Fault during 2011-2013 increased obviously. These abnormal changes may be regarded as precursors to the Ms7. 3 Yutian earthquake.

Effect of Kunlun Ms 8.1 earthquake on crustal deformation in northeastern edge region of Qinghal-Tibet plateau

Seismic fault parameters can be inversed with Okada model based on deformation data before and after earthquakes in focal region and its adjacent area. Co-seismic displacements can be simulated by using these parameters,and then regional velocity field obtained by deducting the co-seismic displacements from the observed displacements by GPS method. We processed and analyzed the data in the northeastern edge region of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau observed during 2001 -2003 in two steps： firstly, the displacements generated by Kunlun MsS. 1 earthquake of 2001 in this region was simulated, and secondly, deducted the co-seismic displacements from it and obtained the horizontal crustal velocity field. The results reveal ： 1 ） the effect of Kunlun Ms8.1 earthquake on crustal deformation in this region is significant; 2 ）the velocity field obtained with this method is better than the original GPS velocity field in reflecting the status of regional crustal movement and strain.

Partitioning Anatolian Kinematics into Tectonic Escape and Slab Rollback Dominated Domains

Anatolia is the global archetype of tectonic escape,as witnessed by the devastating 2023 KahramanmaraşEarthquake sequence,and the 2020 Samos Earthquake,which show different kinematics related to the framework of the escape tectonics.Global Positioning System(GPS)motions of the wedge-shaped plate differ regionally from northwestwards to southwestwards(from east to west).Anatolia was extruded westward from the Arabian-Eurasian collision along the North and East Anatolian fault systems,rotating counterclockwise into the oceanic free-faces of the Mediterranean and Aegean,with dramatic extension of western Anatolia in traditional interpretations.However,which is the dominant mechanism for this change in kinematics,extrusion related to the Arabia/Eurasia collision or rollback of the African slab beneath western Anatolia is still unclear.To assess the dominant driving mechanisms across Anatolia,we analyze recent GPS velocity datasets,and decomposed them into N-S and E-W components,revealing that westward motion is essentially constant across the whole plate and consistent with the slip rates of the North and East Anatolia fault zones,while southward components increase dramatically in the transition area between central and western Anatolia,where a slab tear is suggested.This phenomenon is related to different tectonic driving mechanisms.The ArabiaEurasia collision drives the Anatolian Plate uniformly westwards while western Anatolia is progressively more affected by the southward retreating African subducting slab west of the Aegean/Cypriot slab tear,which significantly increases the southward component of the velocity field and causes the apparent curve of the whole modern velocity field.The 2020 and 2023 earthquake focal mechanisms also confirm that the northward colliding Arabian Plate forced Anatolia to the west,and the retreating African slab is pulling the upper plate of western Anatolian apart in extension.We propose that the Anatolian Plate is moving westwards as one plate with an additional component of extension in its west caused by the local driving mechanism,slab rollback(with the boundary above the slab tear around Isparta),rather than separate microplates or a near-pole spin of the entire Anatolian Plate,and the collisionrelated extrusion is the dominant mechanism of tectonic escape.