Co-seismic and post-seismic deformation, field observations and fault model of the 30 October 2020 Mw=7.0 Samos earthquake, Aegean Sea

On 30 October 2020, a large M-w = 7.0 earthquake occurred north of the island of Samos, Greece. Here we present the characteristics of the seismic fault (location, geometry, geodetic moment) as inferred from the processing of geodetic data (InSAR and GNSS). We use the InSAR displacement data from Sentinel-1 interferograms (ascending orbit 29 and descending 36) and the GNSS offsets from fourteen (14) stations in Greece and Turkey to invert for the fault parameters. Our inversion modelling indicates the activation of a normal fault offshore Samos with a length of 40 km, width of 15 km, average slip of 1.7 m, a moderate dip-angle (37 degrees) and with a dip-direction towards North. The inferred fault is located immediately north of, and adjacent to Samos with the top of the slip similar to 0.6 km below surface, and similar to 1 km offshore at its closest to the island. Near the fault, the earthquake caused the permanent uplift of the island up to 10 cm with the exception of a coastal strip along part of the northern shore that subsided 2-6 cm. The co-seismic horizontal motion of GNSS station SAMO was 35.6 cm towards south and 3 cm towards west. A post-seismic signal (22-33% of the co-seismic on the vertical component) was observed at GNSS stations SAMO and SAMU, with a time constant of 30 days. The effects of the earthquake included liquefaction, rock falls, rock slides, road cracks and deep-seated landslides, all due to the strong ground motion and associated down-slope mobilization of soil cover and loose sediments.

Automated summary

On October 30, 2020, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake occurred north of the island of Samos, Greece, activating a normal fault offshore the island. The earthquake caused permanent uplift of the island and subsidence in coastal areas, as well as liquefaction, rock falls and other effects in the surrounding areas.