A co-seismic fault slip distribution for the Mw 7.5 2018 Palu earthquake

This dataset contains a finite fault model of the co-seismic slip distribution of the 2018 Mw 7.5 Palu earthquake. This finite fault model was used in the study of post-seismic surface displacements following the 2018 Mw 7.5 Palu earthquake (in Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems entitled: A transient in surface motions dominated by deep afterslip subsequent to a shallow supershear earthquake: the 2018 Mw 7.5 Palu case).

This finite fault model was determined as an intermediate result in another study, on the co-seismic surface displacement and tsunami generation by Simons and Broerse et al. which is currently (Februari 2021) in preparation entitled: “A tsunami generated by a strike-slip event: constraints from space geodesy on the 2018 Palu earthquake”. This study combines co-seismic GPS offsets with a multitude of SAR-derived displacement fields in a Bayesian approach to infer the most likely fault slip distribution on a set of fault segments in NW Sulawesi. The surface fault trace dictates the succession of linear fault segments with distinct dip angles that loosely connect to a long segment at depth. This fits well within the tectonic setting of the Palu Valley and Bay area which is characterized as a transtensional basin. In this finite fault model it is assumed that the surface fault trace is continuous in Palu Bay so that those segments north and south of Palu Bay continue offshore with their respective azimuths and connect.