Science· 2025Q1
Supershear rupture sustained through a thick fault zone in the 2025 M w 7.8 Mandalay earthquake
- 31citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2025year
Short summary
The 2025 M w 7.8 Mandalay earthquake's supershear rupture segment (~5.3 km/s) was sustained for over 200 km within a ~2-km-thick, low-velocity fault zone, enabling prolonged high-speed propagation.
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Key points
- The 2025 M w 7.8 Mandalay earthquake featured a supershear rupture segment (~5.3 km/s).
- This supershear rupture was sustained for more than 200 km.
- The sustained supershear rupture occurred within a ~2-km-thick fault zone with a ~45% shear wave speed reduction.
- A thick fault zone, fault geometry, and basin structure are suggested to enable prolonged supershear propagation.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
) 7.8 earthquake ruptured a seismic gap along the Sagaing fault in Myanmar, generating a surface rupture 480 km in length and causing widespread damage. With holistic geodetic and seismic techniques, we resolved its rupture dynamics and fault zone structure. The rupture initiated as bilateral subshear and transitioned to supershear (~5.3 km/s) about 100 km south of the epicenter, sustaining this velocity for more than 200 km. The supershear segment aligns with a ~2-km-thick low-velocity fault zone exhibiting ~45% shear wave speed reduction. We suggest that the thick fault zone, aided by fault geometry and basin structure, enabled prolonged supershear propagation. Our findings emphasize that observations and models encompassing the entire fault zone are crucial for advancing both specific-event and earthquake-cycle simulations.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Science, 2025 · DOI ↗
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