Analysis of impulsive ground motions from February 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquake sequence

On the 6th of February 2023, a large magnitude earthquake (Pazarcık earthquake), Mw= 7.7, occurred in southeast Türkiye, which caused significant destruction in Türkiye and Syria. Relatively large magnitude aftershocks followed the main shock, and after 9 hours of the main event, another large magnitude earthquake (Elbistan earthquake) occurred, Mw= 7.6, on a nearby fault. This study analyzes the near-fault seismic signals from earthquakes larger than 5.5 recorded between the main shock and the 31st of March 2023. More than 60 impulsive motions are detected in 3 earthquakes, mostly concentrated in the Pazarcık and Elbistan earthquakes. In the Pazarcık earthquake, many impulsive motions are recorded in near-fault stations with periods of up to 14 s. In contrast, in the Elbistan earthquake, impulsive motions are spatially distributed, with pulse periods of up to 11 s and at distances greater than 150 km. Pulse periods mostly correlate with the magnitude of the earthquake, but pulse proba...