Coseismic offsets due to intermediate depth 16 April 2013 southeast Iran earthquake (M (sub w) 7.8)

The 16 April 2013 southeast Iran earthquake (M (sub w) 7.8) is the second major earthquake in the region, including the Makran subduction zone, since 1945. This intraslab earthquake, within the subducting Arabian plate, occurred as a result of normal faulting at an intermediate depth. We report coseismic offsets from the two nearby continuously operating Global Positioning System sites that are located within 300 km of the epicenter. The coseismic offsets are consistent with the slip on the northward steeply dipping fault plane. This earthquake probably occurred in response to the slab-detachment process, and its occurrence has implications for the plate interface coupling of the Makran subduction zone.