Role of Active Folding in Rupture Arrest of a Great Thrust Earthquake

Abstract Understanding the cause and location of the end‐points of thrust earthquake ruptures is critical yet unresolved question in seismic hazard assessment for convergent margins, where numerous destructive earthquakes have occurred. Here, we offer a novel perspective on rupture termination by examining the arrest of the 1906 M 8.0 Manas earthquake in northwestern China. Integrated field surveys, seismic profiles, and microseismicity data reveal that rupture terminated at the actively growing Xiaodushan anticline. This anticline lies parallel to and in the hanging wall of the seismogenic fault. We propose active folding acts as an efficient rupture‐arrest barrier, partitioning seismic energy into strata uplift and microseismicity. Furthermore, comparative analysis of global thrust earthquakes identifies two termination mechanisms: fault geometric complexities and external structural barriers. These findings contribute to deeper understanding of rupture lengths and earthquake magnitudes for seismic hazard assessment in convergent margins globally.

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Publication Details

Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
Published
2025-09-21
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1029/2025gl117527
Primary Topic
earthquake and tectonic studies
Type
article
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article

Role of Active Folding in Rupture Arrest of a Great Thrust Earthquake

Rafael Almeida, Chuang Sun, Xiancan Wu, Giovanni Camanni et al.
Geophysical Research Letters
earthquake and tectonic studies
article

Role of Active Folding in Rupture Arrest of a Great Thrust Earthquake

Rafael Almeida, Chuang Sun, Xiancan Wu, Giovanni Camanni, Chuanyong Wu, Peizhen Zhang, Xiangming Dai, Jiamin Lin, Weitao Wang, Zhigang Li, Wen Sun, Weiwang Long, Lianwen Wu, Yanjun Wang
article en

Abstract

Abstract Understanding the cause and location of the end‐points of thrust earthquake ruptures is critical yet unresolved question in seismic hazard assessment for convergent margins, where numerous destructive earthquakes have occurred. Here, we offer a novel perspective on rupture termination by examining the arrest of the 1906 M 8.0 Manas earthquake in northwestern China. Integrated field surveys, seismic profiles, and microseismicity data reveal that rupture terminated at the actively growing Xiaodushan anticline. This anticline lies parallel to and in the hanging wall of the seismogenic fault. We propose active folding acts as an efficient rupture‐arrest barrier, partitioning seismic energy into strata uplift and microseismicity. Furthermore, comparative analysis of global thrust earthquakes identifies two termination mechanisms: fault geometric complexities and external structural barriers. These findings contribute to deeper understanding of rupture lengths and earthquake magnitudes for seismic hazard assessment in convergent margins globally.

Geophysical Research LettersVol. 52(18)
University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (IT), Sun Yat-sen University (CN), Jilin University (CN), San Diego State University (US), Institute of Disaster Prevention (CN), Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou) (CN), Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development (CN), Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai) (CN), China National Petroleum Corporation (China) (CN)
Openalex Percentile: Top 73%
earthquake and tectonic studies
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