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Landslides triggered by the 10 June 2022 Maerkang earthquake swarm, Sichuan, China: spatial distribution and tectonic significance

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Abstract

On June 10, 2022, an earthquake swarm including three major earthquakes with magnitudes of Ms5.8, Ms6.0, and Ms5.2 occurred in Maerkang, Sichuan, China. According to statistics, at least 650 landslides have been triggered by this earthquake, with a total area of 1.2 km2. In this study, the spatial distribution of these landslides and their correlation with seismic, topographic, and geological factors were analyzed based on the coseismic landslide inventory. The results show that landslides are mainly distributed on the northeast side of the Songgang-Fubianhe fault (SG-FBHF), which is a VII intensity area. The closer to the epicenter, the more concentrated the landslide distribution. The landslide density increases significantly with increasing slope. The strata of the Upper Triassic Zhuwo Formation are more prone to coseismic landslide occurrence. Our results, when combined with the focal mechanism solution, precise location of aftershocks, and geological characteristics of the SG-FBHF, suggest that this earthquake is a left-lateral strike-slip earthquake along the SG-FBHF, and the seismogenic fault is slightly tilted to the northeast. In addition, nearly 70% of coseismic landslides are concentrated in the extreme seismic area of ~ 225km2, indicating that the seismic energy release is highly concentrated. This work analyzed the distribution of landslides triggered by a moderately strong earthquake swarm, providing a typical case for researchers to understand the spatial distribution pattern of earthquake-triggered landslides and a scientific support for disaster prevention of coseismic landslides in southwestern Sichuan, China.

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Data availability

The datasets generated and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Google Earth platform and Planet images for the free access to satellite images in this study.

Funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41941016) and the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2021YFB3901205).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Emergency Management Science and Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Zhaoning Chen

  2. National Institute of Natural Hazards, Ministry of Emergency Management of China, Beijing, 100085, China

    Zhaoning Chen, Yuandong Huang, Xiangli He, Xiaoyi Shao, Lei Li, Chong Xu, Xiwei Xu & Zikang Xiao

  3. Key Laboratory of Compound and Chained Natural Hazards Dynamics, Ministry of Emergency Management of China, Beijing, 100085, China

    Zhaoning Chen, Xiangli He, Xiaoyi Shao, Chong Xu, Xiwei Xu & Zikang Xiao

  4. China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Beijing, 100083, China

    Yuandong Huang & Lei Li

  5. Sichuan Earthquake Agency, Chengdu, 610041, China

    Shiyuan Wang

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  1. Zhaoning Chen
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Correspondence to Chong Xu.

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Chen, Z., Huang, Y., He, X. et al. Landslides triggered by the 10 June 2022 Maerkang earthquake swarm, Sichuan, China: spatial distribution and tectonic significance. Landslides 20, 2155–2169 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-023-02080-0

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