Doublet of Earthquakes in Turkey and Syria Holds Lessons for ...
In February, Turkey and Syria experienced a doublet of massive earthquakes that seismologists are referring to as a doublet. The initial earthquake had a rupture length of 300 kilometers and a magnitude of 7.8. Just nine hours later, a second earthquake occurred which was shorter but almost as powerful. This unfortunate timing compounded the tragedy as many individuals entered buildings after the first earthquake to try and save lives and belongings. Zhe Jia, a seismologist with San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, explained that the second earthquake caused additional damage to the already weakened buildings and resulted in more casualties. This analysis is based on a report by Kpbs.org.
The research conducted by the scientists at Scripps Oceanography involved an examination of Turkey’s earthquakes and revealed a perfect storm of geological circumstances that led to long and powerful ruptures. Furthermore, they found that the similarities between Turkey’s East Anatolian fault system and California’s San Andreas Fault are striking. Yuri Fialko, a geophysics professor at Scripps Oceanography, stated, “It’s almost a one to one correspondence to the San Andreas (Fault) in terms of the total length, the total displacement, and maturity.” These findings, published in the journal Science, serve as important lessons for California.
Turkey is situated on the Anatolian Plate, which is squeezed between the Arabian Plate to the south and the Eurasian Plate to the north. The constant push of the Arabian Plate forces the Anatolian Plate to move. Fialko compared the movement of the Anatolian Plate to a watermelon seed being squeezed between fingers. The plate is essentially trying to shoot towards the west, and this motion is accommodated along long fault lines. The initial earthquake rupture in Turkey occurred on a branch of the East Anatolian Fault and was identified as a “cascade of ruptures.” It breakthrough many fault bends and junctions that would typically stop slippage. This led to a devastating earthquake as the ruptures communicated with other faults, generating stress and causing them to rupture one by one.
The surprising element was that the earthquake jumped from one fault to another and started propagating in both directions. The second earthquake was almost as powerful as the larger initial earthquake, primarily due to the speed of its rupture. The earthquakes in February resulted in the deaths of up to 60,000 people in Turkey and Syria. The fault lines in these earthquakes shifted between 8 and 10 meters, while the 1994 Northridge earthquake in Los Angeles only experienced a slip of 3 meters. Fialko emphasized that the magnitude of the earthquake in Turkey, with a magnitude of 7.8, could potentially occur in California as well.
The findings from the analysis conducted by Scripps Oceanography underline the need for California to learn from Turkey’s experience and take appropriate measures to mitigate the impact of potential earthquakes of similar magnitude. The knowledge gained from studying the fault systems in Turkey can help in improving the understanding of earthquake risks in California and informing better preparedness and response strategies.
Key Takeaway: Doublet of massive earthquakes occurred in Turkey and Syria in February. The first earthquake had a rupture length of 300 kilometers and a magnitude of 7.8. The second earthquake occurred nine hours later and was shorter but nearly as powerful. The earthquakes resulted in significant damage and casualties. Researchers at Scripps Oceanography found similarities between Turkey’s fault system and California’s San Andreas Fault. Lessons from Turkey’s earthquakes can inform earthquake preparedness and response strategies in California. Facts about Earthquakes: Earthquakes occur due to the sudden release of energy in the Earth’s crust, resulting in seismic waves. They can cause significant damage to infrastructure and pose a threat to human lives. The magnitude of an earthquake is measured using the Richter scale. Earthquakes can trigger other natural disasters such as tsunamis and landslides. Seismologists study earthquakes to understand their causes and develop strategies to mitigate their impact.Credit: kpbs.org
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Anatolian FaultAnatolian PlateArabian PlateEast AnatolianEast Anatolian FaultEurasian PlateKey TakeawayLos AngelesSan Andreas (FSan Andreas FaultSan DiegoSan FranciscoScripps Institution of OceanographyScripps OceanographySyriaYuri FialkoZhe Jia
