Variability in interseismic strain accumulation rate and style along the Altyn Tagh Fault

• Published in: Nature communications 2024-08, Vol.15 (1), p.6876-12, Article 6876
• Main Authors: Shen, Lin, Hooper, Andrew, Elliott, John R., Wright, Tim J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 704/2151/213; 704/2151/2809; 704/2151/562; 704/4111; Fault lines; Faults; Heat flow; Heat transmission; Humanities and Social Sciences; multidisciplinary; Rheological properties; Rheology; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Seismic hazard; Shear zone; Slip; Strain analysis; Strain distribution; Strain localization; Variability; Velocity; Velocity distribution
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-51116-z

Major strike-slip faults that develop between strong and weaker regions are thought to focus along narrow shear zones at the rheological boundary. Here we present the InSAR-derived velocity field spanning almost the entire length of one such fault, the 1600 km-long Altyn Tagh Fault (ATF), and analyse the strain distribution. We find that localisation of strain is actually variable, in contrast to other major strike-slip faults that show little variation, with strain concentrated at the fault for some sections and distributed over broad (>100 km) shear zones for others. Slip rate along the ATF is also variable, decreasing along the fault from 11.6 ± 1.6 mm/yr in the west to 7.2 ± 1.4 mm/yr in the central portion, before increasing again to 11.7  ± 0.9 mm/yr over the eastern portion. We show that the variable shear zone width may be linked to geological variability and the influence of heat flow, and the results imply that sub-parallel faults play an important role in the overall deformation field. This demonstrates the significance of accurately characterising strain rates over a broad region when assessing seismic hazard. Major strike-slip faults that develop between strong and weaker regions are thought to focus along narrow shear zones at the rheological boundary. Here the authors present the InSAR-derived velocity field spanning almost the entire length of one such fault, the 1600 km-long Altyn Tagh Fault, and analyse the strain distribution.