The 2021 Mw7.3 Maduo (Qinghai, China) earthquake ruptured ∼160 km along a poorly known secondary fault inside the Bayanhar block on the northern Tibetan plateau, which is generally parallel to the Kunlun fault. Here we integrate the interseismic (2015–2020) and coseismic geodetic observations to quantify the interseismic strain rate, fault geometry and coseismic slip distribution. Our results reveal that the seismogenic fault is featured by the low (<20 nanostrain/yr) and nearly undetectable interseismic strain rate. Three‐dimensional displacement fields and coseismic strain maps demonstrate the spatial variations of rupture kinematics due to the change of fault geometry. Our study reveals the steeply north‐dipping fault geometry of the seismogenic fault. The majority of coseismic slip occurred between 0 and 15 km with slight shallow slip deficit, which not penetrates through the inferred elastic upper crust (∼20–25 km). Our study highlights the tectonic and geometric control on fault kinematics of the Maduo earthquake.

The 5 September 2022 Mw 6.7 Luding earthquake occurred on the Moxi segment of the highly active Xianshuihe fault in eastern Tibet. Here, we constrain the coseismic slip by jointly inverting the coseismic displacements measured by Global Positioning System, seismometer and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar. Along the Moxi fault, concentrated left‐lateral strike slip extends ∼30 km along the strike above 10 km depth, producing 0.7–1.0 m shallow slip. Clustered aftershocks and slip inversions suggest that the secondary conjugate Mozigou fault may also involve the rupture. Southward rupture propagation is likely arrested by the barrier‐like fault segments of the Xianshuihe fault, characterized by high interseismic coupling (>0.6) and reduced shear stress rate (<1 kPa/yr) due to interactions with surrounding large locked asperities. The distribution of aftershocks is highly correlated with the positive coseismic Coulomb failure stress changes , which bring the adjacent asperities on the Anninghe and Daliangshan faults ∼0.2 MPa closer to failure.

We use Global Positioning System (GPS) and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) data to quantify the interseismic coupling along the Xianshuihe‐Xiaojiang fault system (XXFS). Our results confirm 7–11 mm/a of left‐lateral strike‐slip motion along the XXFS. South of the Shimian County, high interseismic coupling is found down to 20 km‐depth along the Anninghe‐Zemuhe fault. A second 130 km‐long section, highly coupled down to 10–15 km‐depth, is identified along the northern Xiaojiang fault. North of the Kangding County, the Xianshuihe fault appears to be predominantly creeping at depth. Previously identified long‐lasting surface creep following the 1973 M 7.6 Luhuo earthquake has now ended, possibly marking the initiation of a new period of stress accumulation and progressive relocking of the fault. Farther south along the fault, we identify a ∼30 km‐long section (∼30.2°–30.4°N) creeping at ∼7 mm/yr. Furthermore, creep accelerated by ∼2 mm/yr during the 2008–2014 period, possibly as a result of the static Coulomb failure stress increment induced by the 2008 Mw 7.9 Wenchuan earthquake, that occurred ∼200 km northeast of it. The 2014 Mw 5.9 Kangding earthquake occurred along the creeping section at the end of the period of accelerated creep. Finally, taking advantage of the long historical records of past large earthquakes available since 1327, we quantitatively compare the moment budget along the XXFS. Results highlight that along the Anninghe, Zemuhe, and Xiaojiang faults, moment deficit for Mw > 7 earthquakes has now accumulated.

The ascending and descending interferometric synthetic aperture radar data are used to investigate the fault rupture and slip model of the 2018 Mw 7.5 Sulawesi, Indonesia, earthquake. The best fitting slip model indicates that this earthquake ruptured not only a segment extending the Palu fault to the north but also a northwestern segment offshore. The slip on the onshore fault is predominant left‐lateral strike slip. The slip on the offshore fault is dominated by normal faulting with a maximum slip of ~6.3 m. The newly discovered offshore normal faulting is likely to be the cause of the tsunami after the shock. Combined with previous geomorphic, tectonic, geodetic, and modeling studies, we suggest that the kinematics of the Palu fault maintained the same style of faulting from north to south, which resulted from an oblique extension occurred on an east dipping fault at depths. The deformation pattern of NW Sulawesi is dominated by this slip mechanism.

Knowledge of the slip behavior of the Altyn Tagh fault (ATF) has significant implications for our understanding of the tectonic deformation of the Tibetan Plateau. In this study, we process Global Positioning System (GPS) data spanning 2009–2017 across the western ATF, merge the solution with recently published GPS velocities, and obtain a dense GPS velocity field for northern Tibet. We introduce an elastic block model and estimate the fault slip rate, interseismic fault coupling (ISC), and seismic moment accumulation rate along the ATF. The estimated left‐lateral strike‐slip rate of the ATF decreases eastward from 12.8 ± 0.4 mm/a to 0.1 ± 0.2 mm/a. Results show a heterogeneous distribution of ISC along the fault, with the fault locking depth varying from 5 to 20 km. The seismic moment accumulation rate is 2.16–2.37 × 10¹⁸ N m/km along three segments between Sulamu Tagh and Aksay bends, where the accumulated seismic moment over the last five centuries could be balanced by earthquakes with magnitudes of Mw 7.7, Mw 7.6, and Mw 7.8, respectively. We calculate the ratio of the Indo‐Eurasia convergence accommodated by the ATF and find that 10.3% of the convergence is accommodated along the fault by lateral extrusion; quantitative analysis of the strain rate, however, shows that a large part of the northern Tibet is not well described by elastic block rotation. Consequently, we suggest that a hybrid kinematic model that includes both block‐like and continuous deformation is needed to better delineate the crustal deformation of the Tibetan Plateau.

The 21 May 2021 Maduo earthquake was the largest event to occur on a secondary fault in the interior of the active Bayanhar block on the north-central Tibetan plateau in the last twenty years. A detailed kinematic study of the Maduo earthquake helps us to better understand the seismogenic environments of the secondary faults within the block, and its relationship with the block-bounding faults. In this study, firstly, SAR images are used to obtain the coseismic deformation fields. Secondly, we use a strain model-based method and steepest descent method (SDM) to resolve the three-dimensional displacement components and to invert the coseismic slip distribution constrained by coseismic displacement fields, respectively. The three-dimensional displacement fields reveal a dominant left-lateral strike-slip motion, local horizontal displacement variations and widely distributed near-fault subsidence/uplift deformation. We prefer a five-segment fault slip model, with well constrained fault geometry featuring different dip angles and striking, constrained by InSAR observations. The peak coseismic slip is estimated to be ~5 m near longitude 98.9°E at a depth of ~4–7 km. Overall, the distribution of the coseismic slip on the fault is highly correlated to the measured surface displacement offsets along the entire rupture. We observe the moderate shallow slip deficit and limited afterslip deformation following the Maduo earthquake, it may indicate the effects of off-fault deformation during the earthquake and stable interseismic creep on the fault. The occurrence of the Maduo earthquake on a subsidiary fault updates the importance and the traditional estimate of the seismic hazards for the Kunlun fault.