A Shallow and Left‐Lateral Rupture Event of the 2021 Mw 5.3 Baicheng Earthquake: Implications for the Diffuse Deformation of Southern Tianshan

Abstract

Abstract On 24 March 2021, an Mw 5.3 earthquake struck northwest Baicheng, located in the Kuqa fold‐and‐thrust belt (FTB), northwest China. In the current study, interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) data were used to investigate the associated fault rupture solution (dip, dip direction, and slip sense), to determine the geometry of the seismogenic structure; the high‐resolution images of the surface rupture were obtained using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). This geometric model, along with the co‐seismic slip distribution from the InSAR data, and deformation characteristics of co‐seismic surface rupture revealed that: (a) it was a shallow event, the focal depth was 0.5–2 km, and the co‐seismic slip was distributed in the 0–7 km range with high dip angles (66°, 70°). (b) A 4‐km long surface rupture with obvious left‐lateral strike‐slip was distributed on the surface, and the maximum strike‐slip displacement and width were 0.79 and 0.7 m, respectively. This left‐lateral strike‐slip event indicates that the relative motion between the Tianshan and Tarim blocks is a continuous and diffuse deformation process. The study shows that, when evaluating the earthquake risk of the Kuqa FTB, we should consider both the front position of the fault outburst and the internal compressional salt‐related structures, which can also produce moderate to strong earthquakes.