Coseismic surface deformation and engineering damage associated with the large strike-slip faulting: Lessons from the 2001 Mw 7.8 Central Kunlun earthquake

We analyzed coseismic surface deformations associated with the 2001 Mw 7.8 Central Kunlun earthquake, which occurred on 14 November 2001 along the west (Kusai Lake) segment of the left-lateral strike-slip Kunlun fault in northern Tibet, China. Field investigations and analyses of satellite remote sensing imagery indicate that a 400-km-long coseismic rupture zone occurred along the pre-existing Kunlun fault zone. The coseismic surface rupture zone is mainly composed of sinistral shear faults, tensional cracks, mole tracks, and pull-apart sag ponds and grabens. Width of the coseismic surface rupture zone ranges from several meters to 1 km. This earthquake caused damage to the highway between Golmud and Lhasa, base of the Qinghai-Tibet railway, and temporary housing for railway construction workers. It also triggered snow and glacier avalanches. The analyses of coseismic surface deformational features and engineering damage provide us useful experience to evaluate possible engineering damage associated with future great earthquakes on strike-slip faults in highly populated and industrialized regions. Furthermore, it also provides us an unusual opportunity to understand the growth of geomorphic features due to repeated large seismic events along an active strike-slip fault.