Rabat – A team of researchers from Morocco, Italy and Germany identified the geological mistake that is probably responsible for Al Haouz’s earthquake, which shook the western high Atlas in Morocco on September 8, 2023.
The 7.0 Magnititude Quake Reduced Morocco’s province of Al-Haouz in debris, which led to more than 3,000 deaths and injured thousands of others. The disaster also destroyed structures and infrastructure on a colossal scale.
Published on March 6th in SciencedirectThe study examines the dynamics of errors and the stress distribution in the region and provides insights into the interaction of Deep default systems.
The epicenter of the earthquake was about 28 kilometers underground. Afterskin occurred mainly near the Tizi -Noot -Test, a geological structure near a rural community in the province of Taroudant.
The study explains a compressive event with two fault levels, the steeply to the northwest and the other tend to gently tend to southwest. The northwest mistake probably had a greater movement.
Using the differential synthetic-patient-patient radar interferometry (dinsar), a satellite-based technology for measuring soil shifts, the researchers mapped the shift along the error.
Her analysis laid out an asymmetrical increase along the Tizi -Noot -Test error and confirmed its role in the earthquake. They also used the TDE method (Triangulular Dislocation Elastic), a modeling approach that simulates the error behavior using geological and seismic data.
The study finds that the main actor was less involved in this special earthquake, the main actor, another geological structure, the Jebilettschmen north of Marrakech.
Although significant in the tectonic framework of the region, his contribution to the event of September 8th was minimal.
“From this correlation we suggest that the Tizi-N’test system is the likely cause of the earthquake of 2023 al-Haouz,” concluded the scientists.
The study finds how important it is to combine satellite observations with advanced geological modeling in order to better know and understand the seismic activity in the high Atlas.
By examining ground formation patterns, awards distribution and interference of rejects, the researchers can better represent the forces that formed the earthquake of 2023.
