We use Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements of surface deformation to show that the convergence between the Australian Plate and Sunda Block in eastern Indonesia is partitioned between the megathrust and a continuous zone of back‐arc thrusting extending 2000 km from east Java to north of Timor. Although deformation in this back‐arc region has been reported previously, its extent and the mechanism of convergence partitioning have hitherto been conjectural. GPS observations establish that partitioning occurs via a combination of anticlockwise rotation of an arc segment called the Sumba Block, and left‐lateral movement along a major NE‐SW strike‐slip fault west of Timor. We also identify a westward extension of the back‐arc thrust for 300 km onshore into East Java, accommodating slip of ∼6 mm/yr. These results highlight a major new seismic threat for East Java and draw attention to the pronounced seismic and tsunami threat to Bali, Lombok, Nusa Tenggara, and other coasts along the Flores Sea.

The Great Sumatran Fault system in Indonesia is a major right‐lateral trench‐parallel system that can be divided into several segments, most of which have ruptured within the last century. This study focuses on the northern portion of the fault system which contains a 200‐km‐long segment that has not experienced a major earthquake in at least 170 years. In 2005, we established the Aceh GPS Network for the Sumatran Fault System (AGNeSS) across this segment. AGNeSS observes large displacements which include significant postseismic deformation from recent large megathrust earthquakes as well as interseismic deformation due to continued elastic loading of both the megathrust and the strike slip system. We parameterize the displacements due to afterslip on the megathrust using a model based on a rate‐ and state‐dependent friction formalism. Using this approach, we are able to separate afterslip from other contributions. We remove predicted deformation due to afterslip from the observations, and use these corrected time series to infer the depth of shallow aseismic creep and deeper locked segments for the Great Sumatran Fault. In the northern portion of this fault segment, we infer aseismic creep down to 7.3 ± 4.8 km depth at a rate of 2.0 ± 0.6 cm/year. In the southwestern portion of the segment, we estimate a locking depth of 14.8 ± 3.4 km with a downdip slip rate of 1.6 ± 0.6 cm/year. This portion of the fault is capable of producing a magnitude 7.0 earthquake.

Indonesia is one of the most seismically active countries in the world, and its large, vulnerable population makes reliable seismic hazard assessment an urgent priority. In 2016, the Indonesian Ministry of Public Works and Housing established a team of earthquake scientists and engineers tasked with improving the input data available for revising the national seismic hazard map. They compiled results of recent active fault studies using geological, geophysical, and geodetic observations, as well as a new comprehensive earthquake catalog including hypocenters relocated in a three-dimensional velocity model. Seismic hazard analysis was undertaken using recently developed ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs), and logic trees for the inclusion of epistemic uncertainty associated with different choices for GMPEs and earthquake recurrence models. The new seismic hazard maps establish the importance of active faults and intraslab seismicity, as well as the subduction megathrust, in determining the level of seismic hazard, especially in onshore, populated areas. The new Indonesian hazard maps will be used to update national standards for design of earthquake-resilient buildings and infrastructure.

Summary On 28 September 2018, 18:02:44 local time, the Magnitude 7.5 earthquake accompanied by a tsunami and massive liquefaction devastated Palu region in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. Comprehensive post-disaster surveys have been conducted, including field survey of surface ruptures, LiDAR, multibeam-bathymetry mapping, and seismic-reflection survey. We used these data to map fault ruptures and measure offsets accurately. In contrast to previous remote-sensing studies, suggesting that the earthquake broke an immature, hidden-unknown fault inland, our research shows that it occurred on the mappable, mature geological fault line offshore. The quake ruptured 177-km long multi-fault segments, bypassing two large releasing bends (first offshore and second inland). The rupture onset occurred at a large fault discontinuity underwater in a transition zone from regional extensional to compressional tectonic regimes. Then it propagated southward along the ∼110-km submarine fault line before reaching the west side of Palu City. Hence, its long submarine ruptures might trigger massive underwater landslides and significantly contribute to tsunami generation in Palu Bay. The rupture continued inland for another 67 km, showing predominantly left-lateral strike-slip up to 6-m, accompanied by a 5–10% dip-slip on average. The 7km sizeable releasing bend results in a pull-apart Palu basin. Numerous normal faults occur along the eastern margin. They cut the Quaternary sediments, and some of them ruptured during the 2018 event. Our fault-rupture map on mature straight geological fault lines allows the possible occurrence of early and persistent ‘supershear’, but significant asperities and barriers on segment boundaries may prohibit it.

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