Impact of the 2008 MW 7.9 Great Wenchuan earthquake on South China microplate motion

dc.contributor.authorIaffaldano, Giampieroen
dc.contributor.authorde Blas, Juan Martinen
dc.contributor.authorRui, Xuen
dc.contributor.authorStamps, D. Sarahen
dc.contributor.authorBin, Zhaoen
dc.date.accessioned2025-01-09T19:37:18Zen
dc.date.available2025-01-09T19:37:18Zen
dc.date.issued2024-07-16en
dc.description.abstractTectonic plate motions drive the earthquake cycle, as they result in the slow accrual and sudden release of energy along plate boundaries. Steadiness of plate motions over the earthquake cycle is a central tenet of the plate tectonics theory and has long been a main pillar in models of earthquake genesis, or of plate-margins seismic potential inferred from slip-deficit estimates. The advent of geodesy in the geosciences and the availability of multi-year-long series of position measurements permit tracking the motions of tectonic plates from before to after the time of significant seismic events that occur along their margins. Here, we present evidence that large earthquakes are capable of modifying the motions of entire microplates. We use high precision Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) position time-series covering the periods 2001–2004 and 2014–2017 to demonstrate that, contrary to the tenet above, the South China microplate motion changed after the 2008 MW 7.9 Great Wenchuan earthquake. The GNSS data and associated uncertainties indicate a plate motion slowdown of up to 20% that is beyond the possible impact of data noise and is thus tectonically meaningful. We use quantitative models of torque balance to show that generating this kinematic change requires a force upon the South China microplate compatible with that imparted by the Great Wenchuan earthquake of 2008. The existence of a kinematic signal linked to the earthquake cycle that impacts an entire microplate might offer an additional, novel perspective to assessing the hazards of earthquake-prone tectonic regions.en
dc.description.versionPublished versionen
dc.format.extent18 page(s)en
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifierARTN 16469 (Article number)en
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-67141-3en
dc.identifier.eissn2045-2322en
dc.identifier.issn2045-2322en
dc.identifier.issue1en
dc.identifier.orcidStamps, D [0000-0002-3531-1752]en
dc.identifier.other10.1038/s41598-024-67141-3 (PII)en
dc.identifier.pmid39014128en
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10919/124032en
dc.identifier.volume14en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherNature Portfolioen
dc.relation.urihttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/39014128en
dc.rightsCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 Internationalen
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/en
dc.titleImpact of the 2008 <i>M<sub>W</sub></i> 7.9 Great Wenchuan earthquake on South China microplate motionen
dc.title.serialScientific Reportsen
dc.typeArticle - Refereeden
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten
dc.type.otherArticleen
dc.type.otherJournalen
dcterms.dateAccepted2024-07-08en
pubs.organisational-groupVirginia Techen
pubs.organisational-groupVirginia Tech/Scienceen
pubs.organisational-groupVirginia Tech/Science/Geosciencesen
pubs.organisational-groupVirginia Tech/All T&R Facultyen
pubs.organisational-groupVirginia Tech/Science/COS T&R Facultyen

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