Rapid investigation of co and post-seismic deformation resulting from the 24th August 2016 Amatrice Earthquake (M 6.2)

At 3:36 AM on the 24th of August a magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck the Amatrice region. The shaking in this event caused nearly 300 deaths and significant damage to the villages distributed across the region. The earthquake ruptured across two faults, the Laga-Amatrice and Vettore faults, which were previously thought to be separate structures that could not rupture in a single event. Our team visited the region days after the event to begin scientific study of this earthquake, investigating the surface expression of the earthquake and installing GNSS equipment that will measure high-resolution motion of the ground continuously for weeks and months following the earthquake. Our team comprises UK and Italian scientists from the University of Leeds, University of Durham, Univeristy of London, Birkbeck University of London, University of Insurbia, the Italian Geological Survey (ISPRA), and Geospatial Research Ltd (Durham). Members of our team who are experts in using satellite data to investigate ground deformation (Durham) processed data in real-time to direct the initial field campaign. This project will aim to fully characterise the nature of the Amatrice earthquake in terms of what happened during and what is continuing to occur after the seismic event. We will use a variety of techniques including satellite radar measurements and modelling of co and post -seismic deformation, GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) measurements of ground deformation, photogrammetry and laser scanning to make high resolution measurements of the surface rupture, detailed field work in the region of the earthquake, and modelling techniques to determine how this earthquake affected stress on the surrounding faults. The work is urgent due to the need to document post-seismic deformation in the weeks and months following the earthquake, and the degrading nature of the surface rupture. This research will allow us to investigate fault connectivity and how linkage develops. We will test hypotheses regarding the role of postseismic deformation after an earthquake that links previously independent structures. Fault linkage typically happens over long geological timescales and has never before been captured before with such a high quality dataset. Our results will be important for incorporating multi-fault rupturing earthquakes into future hazard assessments made in central Italy and globally.