The 2023 Kahramanmaraş Earthquake Sequence

Learning from the 2023 Kahramanmaraş Earthquake Sequence offers valuable insights into disaster recovery. Carmine Galasso and Eyitayo Opabola delve into the intricacies of the “Build Back Better” (BBB) concept, underscoring the importance of recovery and reconstruction efforts toward a future that is not only more resilient but also more sustainable and equitable.

During the February 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquakes, people looked for explanations. As scientists, we did our best to share our knowledge in a way that reached and connected with people beyond the scientific community.

The 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquakes occurred on active faults that were known to be a high seismic hazard, yet the devastating impacts of these earthquakes show that the risk was not adequately considered. Vulnerabilities arising from exposure, corruption and poverty led to a lack of seismic preparedness which amplified the earthquake risk into a tragic disaster.

The human tragedy caused by the earthquake doublet on 6 February 2023 in Turkey and Syria is difficult to comprehend. While earthquake scientists are trying to understand this seismic event, its catastrophic impact highlights heightened risk in the entire region.

Surface waves excited by the February 2023 M_w7.6 earthquake in Turkey triggered tectonic tremors along the Dead Sea Transform Fault and a microearthquake on the Carmel-Fari’a Fault, according to an analysis of ground acceleration data.

Hazard levels in the region where the 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquake sequence occurred may have been underestimated prior to the event, according to a comparative study of probabilistic seismic hazard assessments from before the event and observed ruptures and ground motions.

The 2023 M_w 7.8 Pazarcik earthquake, Türkiye was characterized by spatially non-uniform rupture propagation that included transient episodes of supershear rupture, according to a 2D model informed by nearby seismic records.

Unique seismic transients since 2014 were detected during 8 months before the 2023 M_W 7.8 Kahramanmaraş earthquake on the East Anatolian Fault. They are consistent with experiments and models of heterogeneous rupture affecting multiple fault segments.

Even rough estimates of rupture parameters could improve the efficiency of ground shaking simulations for emergency response and seismic hazard assessment, according to broadband modeling of coherent and incoherent rupture propagation in the 2023 Mw7.8 Kahramanmaraş earthquake.

The Mw 7.8 Kahramanmaraş earthquake nucleated on the Narli fault before propagating to the East Anatolian Fault and may form part of a greater than 900 year seismic supercycle, according to analyses of seismic and satellite-based remote sensing data

Analysis of remote-sensing and seismological observations from the 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquake doublet reveals how fault geometry can control fault slip distribution and rupture kinematics, including the occurrence of supershear rupture.

Kinematic models for the two major earthquakes on February 6, 2023 along the East Anatolian Fault Zone reveal complex multi-fault rupture and the plausible triggering of the doublet aftershock by the first event. (*couldn’t find author-written summary)

Geologists knew decades ago that a quake would strike southeastern Turkey, but precise prediction is still the stuff of science fiction.

Turkey and Syria’s buildings have always been vulnerable to earthquakes, but war has made things worse.

This study shows a direct evidence of pore pressure changes in seabed sediments associated with slow and transient slip along the North Anatolian Fault. This is a major contribution to our understanding of the role of slow-slip events in earthquake cycles.

The 2020 Mw 6.8 Elazığ earthquake displayed cascading rupture behavior along an immature fault with most of its energy spent fracturing the wall rock rather than displacing the surface, according to a detailed dynamic source inversion approach.

The state of the Main Marmara Fault (fault segment of the North Anatolian Fault) is widely discussed, towards whether it is creeping or locked. The authors here present seafloor geodetic measurements which indicate a complete locking of the fault in the central part of the Sea of Marmara. This provides significant information for the assessment of both seismic and potential tsunami hazard to Istanbul.

The magnitude 7.6 Izmit earthquake that struck Turkey in 1999 was nucleated by an eastward-migrating cascade of foreshocks, according to high-resolution analyses of seismic data.

Accumulation of interseismic strain may now be constrained by satellite observations. Here, the authors show that strain accumulation rates on the North Anatolian Fault are constant for the interseismic period indicating that lower-crustal viscosities from postseismic studies are not representative.