The source kinematics and slip distribution of the 2023 Mw 6.8 Morocco earthquake

Abstract

On September 8, 2023, an Mw 6.8 earthquake struck Haouz province (Morocco), in the central Atlas Mountains, causing many casualties. In this study, we obtain the co-seismic deformation field with the D-InSAR and the Pixel Offset Tracking (POT), and three-dimensional displacement with the strain model-variance component estimation method (SM-VCE). The results indicate that this earthquake belongs to a typical thrust earthquake, and the displacement components in the west-east (W-E) and vertical are quite obvious. Besides, the rupture length from the POT method is about 40 km, and the strike is west-north-west (WNW), consistent with that of the Atlas Mountains. According to the slip inversion, the rupture depth of the fault is about 30 km, and the peak slip is approximately 1.6 m at depths of about 22.75 km. Similarly, the strike is 260°, the dip angle is 70° and the rake angle is 75°, respectively. Moreover, the released energy from this earthquake is approximately a Mw 6.8 earthquake. In addition to the earthquake destruction, the local economic foundation and building structure are crucial reasons for the serious casualties. Therefore, the method in this study could provide references for seismic research and the results could help explore the focal mechanism along the High Atlas in Morocco.