Cascading rupture of a megathrust

Understanding variability in the size and location of large earthquakes along subduction margins is crucial for evaluating seismic and tsunami hazards. We present a coseismic slip model for the 2021 M8.2 Chignik earthquake and investigate the relationship of this earthquake to previous major events in the Alaska Peninsula region and to interseismic coupling. Stress changes from the 2020 M7.8 Simeonof event triggered the Chignik event, and together, the earthquakes partially filled an unruptured section along a 3000-km subduction margin that has experienced a series of ruptures along almost its entire length over the past century. Variations in coupling and structural characteristics may make the region more prone to nucleating M7 to M8 events rather than larger M > 8.5 earthquakes. Stress changes and rupture areas suggest that the two recent earthquakes may be part of an 80-year-long rupture cascade and may have advanced seismic hazard in the region.

Automated summary

Understanding the variability in size and location of large earthquakes along subduction margins is crucial for assessing seismic and tsunami hazards. This study presents a coseismic slip model for the 2021 M8.2 Chignik earthquake and investigates its relationship to previous major events in the Alaska Peninsula region and interseismic coupling. The results suggest that stress changes from a previous event triggered the Chignik earthquake and partially filled an unruptured section along the subduction margin. Variations in coupling and structural characteristics may make the region more prone to nucleating moderate to large earthquakes rather than extremely large ones. The findings also indicate that the recent earthquakes may be part of a long rupture cascade and have increased seismic hazard in the region.