Assessment of Anomalous Geodynamics before the 2023 Mw 7.8 Earthquake in Turkey by Stacking-InSAR Method

Displacement velocity fields of the block-fault structure are constructed and the main geodynamic processes in the area of the East Anatolian Fault (EAF) are revealed based on the results of the processing of 437 radar interferograms obtained from the Sentinel-1 radar in the period from early 2018 until the beginning of the destructive seismic activity in February 6, 2023 in Turkey by the Stacking-InSAR method. Anomalous block displacements along this fault have been identified; they are timed to the earthquake of January 24, 2020 (Mw = 6.7). Zones of stress–strain state of the main blocks in the period preceding the earthquake have been determined using the cluster analysis of time series of velocity fields. It is shown that the epicenters of the February 2023 earthquakes are located in these zones. A conclusion is made about the necessity of using such a technique to estimate the stress–strain state in order to predict seismic activity.