Complex fault system associated with the Molucca Sea Divergent double subduction zone revealed by the 2019 Mw 6.9 and Mw 7.1 Earthquakes

Abstract

GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) data in northern Sulawesi and western Halmahera reveals a pattern of coseismic displacement that was caused by the 7 July 2019 (Mw 6.9) and 14 November 2019 (Mw 7.1) Molucca Sea earthquakes. The coseismic slip of these earthquakes are obtained via inversion on rectangular fault planes of surface GNSS coseismic deformation offsets. The 7 July 2019 earthquake ruptured on an east-dipping fault with a maximum slip of ∼35 cm located at ∼4 km depth and ∼ 100 km north-west of the epicenter. The 14 November 2019 earthquake also ruptured on an east-dipping fault, which has a maximum slip of ∼64 cm located at ∼22 km depth and ∼ 20 km south-west of the epicenter. The coseismic slip distribution of the 14 November earthquake is spatially aligned to that of an earthquake of similar magnitude that took place on 15 November 2014 in the same region. This observation points to the possibility of synchronization, thus raising the prospect of a future earthquake exceeding magnitude 7. If the stress was completely released during the 2014 event, it would have been necessary to reload that portion of the fault at a rate significantly larger than the observed convergence rate of ∼5.8 cm/yr. This suggests that partial ruptures are likely controlling the recurrence time of large earthquakes in the region.