Rabat – A team of researchers from Morocco, Italy, and Germany has identified the geological fault likely responsible for the Al Haouz earthquake that shook Morocco’s western High Atlas on September 8, 2023.
The 7.0-magnitude quake reduced Morocco’s Al-Haouz province to rubble, resulting in more than 3,000 deaths and injuring thousands of others. The catastrophe also destroyed structures and infrastructure on a colossal scale.
Published on March 6 in ScienceDirect, the study examines fault dynamics and stress distribution within the region, providing insight into how deep fault systems interact.
The earthquake’s epicenter lay about 28 kilometers underground. Aftershocks occurred mainly near the Tizi n’Test fault, a geological structure near a rural commune in Taroudant province.
The study explains a compressive event involving two fault planes, one sloping steeply to the northwest and the other inclining more gently to the southwest. The northwest fault likely experienced greater movement.
Using Differential Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (DInSAR), a satellite-based technique for measuring ground shifts, the researchers mapped displacement along the fault.
Their analysis exposed asymmetrical uplift along the Tizi n’Test fault, confirming its role in the earthquake. They also applied the Triangular Dislocation Elastic (TDE) method, a modeling approach that simulates fault behavior using geological and seismic data.
The study notes that while the Tizi n’Test fault was the principal actor, another geological structure, the Jebilet Thrust north of Marrakech, appeared less involved in this particular earthquake.
Although significant in the region’s tectonic framework, its contribution to the September 8 event was minimal.
“From this correlation, we propose that the Tizi n’Test system is the likely causative for the 2023 Al-Haouz earthquake,” the scientists concluded.
The study notes the importance of combining satellite observations with advanced geological modeling in order to know and understand seismic activity better in the High Atlas.
By studying ground deformation patterns, aftershock distribution, and fault interactions, the researchers can better depict the forces that formed the 2023 earthquake.
