Distinct triggering mechanisms of the 2023 Türkiye earthquake doublet

Abstract Despite advancements in understanding the rupture processes and surface deformations of the 2023 Türkiye earthquake doublet, their seismogenic mechanisms remain elusive. Here, we employed a joint tomographic method utilizing 215,906 P- and S-wave arrival time pairs to determine the fine-sca...

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Main Authors: Zhi Wang, Qiang Qiu, Yi Fu, Jian Lin, Shunping Pei
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-04-01
Series:Communications Earth & Environment
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02266-5
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author Zhi Wang
Qiang Qiu
Yi Fu
Jian Lin
Shunping Pei
author_facet Zhi Wang
Qiang Qiu
Yi Fu
Jian Lin
Shunping Pei
author_sort Zhi Wang
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Despite advancements in understanding the rupture processes and surface deformations of the 2023 Türkiye earthquake doublet, their seismogenic mechanisms remain elusive. Here, we employed a joint tomographic method utilizing 215,906 P- and S-wave arrival time pairs to determine the fine-scale seismic and porosity structures in the rupture zones. We find that the first Mw 7.8 earthquake occurred in a brittle or near-brittle structure zone with low porosity and fluid saturation, offering a potential condition for brittle failure with supershear rupture. By contrast, the second Mw 7.6 quake initiated in a ductile belt characterized by high porosity and fluid saturation, explaining the observed sub-shear rupture behaviors. The former induces large decreasing normal stress, thus opening the Çardak fault, accelerating the migration of saturated fluids towards the fault zone through intra-crustal faults and extended cracks, increasing pore pressure, and delaying triggering a second earthquake. Our findings reveal the diverse seismogenic mechanisms of the Türkiye earthquake doublet, suggesting that fluid intrusion may have played a crucial role in triggering the second Mw 7.6 quake.
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spelling doaj-art-cdb7459f305b484d9bd5b59f952aa9d22025-08-20T02:27:11ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Earth & Environment2662-44352025-04-016111310.1038/s43247-025-02266-5Distinct triggering mechanisms of the 2023 Türkiye earthquake doubletZhi Wang0Qiang Qiu1Yi Fu2Jian Lin3Shunping Pei4State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of SciencesState Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of SciencesCAS Key Laboratory of Ocean and Marginal Sea Geology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of SciencesCAS Key Laboratory of Ocean and Marginal Sea Geology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of SciencesSchool of Earth Sciences, Yunnan UniversityAbstract Despite advancements in understanding the rupture processes and surface deformations of the 2023 Türkiye earthquake doublet, their seismogenic mechanisms remain elusive. Here, we employed a joint tomographic method utilizing 215,906 P- and S-wave arrival time pairs to determine the fine-scale seismic and porosity structures in the rupture zones. We find that the first Mw 7.8 earthquake occurred in a brittle or near-brittle structure zone with low porosity and fluid saturation, offering a potential condition for brittle failure with supershear rupture. By contrast, the second Mw 7.6 quake initiated in a ductile belt characterized by high porosity and fluid saturation, explaining the observed sub-shear rupture behaviors. The former induces large decreasing normal stress, thus opening the Çardak fault, accelerating the migration of saturated fluids towards the fault zone through intra-crustal faults and extended cracks, increasing pore pressure, and delaying triggering a second earthquake. Our findings reveal the diverse seismogenic mechanisms of the Türkiye earthquake doublet, suggesting that fluid intrusion may have played a crucial role in triggering the second Mw 7.6 quake.https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02266-5
spellingShingle Zhi Wang
Qiang Qiu
Yi Fu
Jian Lin
Shunping Pei
Distinct triggering mechanisms of the 2023 Türkiye earthquake doublet
Communications Earth & Environment
title Distinct triggering mechanisms of the 2023 Türkiye earthquake doublet
title_full Distinct triggering mechanisms of the 2023 Türkiye earthquake doublet
title_fullStr Distinct triggering mechanisms of the 2023 Türkiye earthquake doublet
title_full_unstemmed Distinct triggering mechanisms of the 2023 Türkiye earthquake doublet
title_short Distinct triggering mechanisms of the 2023 Türkiye earthquake doublet
title_sort distinct triggering mechanisms of the 2023 turkiye earthquake doublet
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02266-5
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AT jianlin distincttriggeringmechanismsofthe2023turkiyeearthquakedoublet
AT shunpingpei distincttriggeringmechanismsofthe2023turkiyeearthquakedoublet