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Complex Rupture of the 2014 Ms 6.6 **ggu Earthquake Sequence in Yunnan Province Inferred from Double-Difference Relocation

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To study the seismogenic structure of the 7 October 2014 Ms 6.6 **ggu earthquake, we use the cut-and-paste (CAP) method to obtain the focal mechanisms and depths of the mainshock and the two largest aftershocks with Ms > 5. Then, we take advantage of waveform cross-correlations to obtain precise time difference data and apply the double-difference method to relocate the aftershocks between October 7 and December 31. We relocate 2076 earthquakes (approximately 73.6% of the total) with an average horizontal accuracy of approximately 150 m and a depth uncertainty of approximately 700 m. The Ms 6.6 mainshock epicenter originated at 23.378°N, 100.475°E at a depth of 15.38 km. The **ggu earthquake sequence exhibited a linearly concentrated distribution in the northwest–southeast direction with obvious segmentation features and, thus, it can be divided into four branches spatially and two stages temporally. The aftershocks first appeared around the Ms 6.6 mainshock and then extended on either side of the mainshock along the NW–SE direction (the NW branch). The earthquake rupture direction experienced a slight clockwise deflection at the NW end and rotated clockwise by approximately 90° toward the SW (the NE branch) at the SE end. Then, the rupture propagated a short distance along the SW direction and rotated counterclockwise by approximately 90° into an SSE direction (the NNW branch). There is a small angle between the NW and NNW branches. The depths of the whole sequence with vertical dip angles were shallower toward the NW and deeper with two seismogenic layers toward the SE. According to the distributions of the earthquakes and nearby fractures, it is highly possible that the **ggu earthquake sequence occurred along a hidden fracture section of the Wuliangshan fault in the NW direction. Moreover, we can confirm that the three large earthquakes all occurred along right-lateral strike-slip faults.

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Acknowledgements

The National Seismic Network of the China Earthquake Administration and the Yunnan Seismic Network provided the data used in this study. The authors benefitted greatly from discussions with Dr. Sidao Ni of the Institute of Geodesy and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. We thank the reviewers for their valuable advice. The research is supported by China Earthquake Science Experiment Project, China Earthquake Administration (Project Code 2017CESE0101) and by Natural Science Foundation of China through 41474049, 41661164035, and 41704066.

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  1. State Key Laboratory of Geodesy and Earth’s Dynamics, Institute of Geodesy and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430077, China

    Qingdong Wang, Risheng Chu & Hui Yang

  2. Key Laboratory of Geospace Enviroment and Geodesy, Ministry of Education, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430079, China

    Liangbao Zhu

  3. Earthquake Administration of Yunnan Province, Kunming, 650224, China

    You** Su

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  1. Qingdong Wang
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Correspondence to Risheng Chu.

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Wang, Q., Chu, R., Yang, H. et al. Complex Rupture of the 2014 Ms 6.6 **ggu Earthquake Sequence in Yunnan Province Inferred from Double-Difference Relocation. Pure Appl. Geophys. 175, 4253–4274 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-018-1913-y

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