Kinematics of the 30 October 2020 Mw 7.0 Néon Karlovásion (Samos) earthquake in the Eastern Aegean Sea: Implications on source characteristics and dynamic rupture simulations

We resolve source mechanism and rupture process for the Néon Karlovásion, Samos Mw 7.0 earthquake that struck Greek-Turkish border regions on 30th October 2020 acquired from kinematic joint inversion of teleseismic body-waves and near-field strong ground-motion waveforms. The optimal kinematic finite-fault slip model indicates a planar E-W striking north-dipping normal faulting mechanism with strike ϕ = 270° ± 5°; dip δ = 35° ± 5°; rake λ = −94° ± 5°; centroid depth h = 11 ± 2 km; duration of the source time function STF = 26 s and seismic moment M_o = 3.34 × 10¹⁹ Nm equivalent to Mw = 7.0. Our final finite- fault slip models exhibit two main asperities within a depth range from ~20 km to the surface. The dynamic rupture model exposes an initial heterogeneous stress distribution with variations up to 25 MPa. The near-field strong motion waveforms constrained the slip model suggesting up-dip and westward propagation of the bilateral rupture pattern with a maximum slip of 3.2 m, illuminated by back-projection (BP) analysis. The high-frequency (HF) back-projected rupture showed a predominantly E-W striking component (~75%) with directivity of 277° that propagates to the surface along a 60 km long and 24 km wide fault plane in 20 s at a slower speed range of 1.0–2.0 km/s. This well constrains the coseismic slip region where the aftershock sequence confirms distributed deformation. Our back-projection analyses elucidates a dominant HF rupture stage (0–13 s) tracked first on the epicentre area and further along the downdip in the region of maximum coseismic slip indicating ~15 km of persistent rupture. The latter HF emissions (13–20 s) remark a speed of about 3.0 km/s and a westward extension of the rupture up to 30 km from the preceding rupture segment to shorelines at the northeast of the Ikaria Island.