Deep fault sliding rates for Ka-Ping block of Xinjiang based on repeating earthquakes

Abstract

The seismically active Ka-Ping Block within Xinjiang, China, represents a zone of potential earthquake hazards, and existing surface measurements cannot fully reflect the area’s sub-surface slip rates. To determine these slip rates and characterize the level of hazard that the study area may face in future years, using a cross-correlation of waveforms, we identified 432 repeat sequences along large faults (F1–F5) in the Ka-Ping Block between September 2009 and April 2022 and computed the annual slip rate for every sequence with the empirical relationship of the moment and the seismic magnitude. Spatial distribution images and temporal evolution characteristics of deep deformation in fault zones were constructed. We obtained five asperities in the Ka-Ping Block, the western portion of the PiQiang fault (F4) had a larger yearly slide rate than its eastern portion, and the southwest and eastern areas of the KEP station show an elevated risk of seismic activity within the next two years.