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Updated: Jan 12, 2026

Kinematic History of a Salient-recess Junction Explored through a Combined Approach of Field Data and Analog Sandbox Modeling
Published on: August 5, 2016
Supershear rupture sustained through a thick fault zone in the 2025 Mw 7.8 Mandalay earthquake
Shengji Wei1,2,3, Xin Wang4,5, Chenglong Li6
1Key Laboratory of Deep Petroleum Intelligent Exploration and Development, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Abstract:
On 28 March 2025, a moment magnitude (Mw) 7.8 earthquake ruptured a seismic gap along the Sagaing fault in Myanmar, generating a surface rupture 480 km in length and causing widespread damage. With holistic geodetic and seismic techniques, we resolved its rupture dynamics and fault zone structure. The rupture initiated as bilateral subshear and transitioned to supershear (~5.3 km/s) about 100 km south of the epicenter, sustaining this velocity for more than 200 km. The supershear segment aligns with a ~2-km-thick low-velocity fault zone exhibiting ~45% shear wave speed reduction. We suggest that the thick fault zone, aided by fault geometry and basin structure, enabled prolonged supershear propagation. Our findings emphasize that observations and models encompassing the entire fault zone are crucial for advancing both specific-event and earthquake-cycle simulations.
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