Paleoseismology of the 2016 MW 6.1 Petermann earthquake source: implications for intraplate earthquake behaviour and the geomorphic longevity of bedrock fault scarps in a low strain‐rate cratonic region

The 20 May 2016 MW 6.1 Petermann earthquake in central Australia generated a 21 km surface rupture with 0.1 to 1 m vertical displacements across a low-relief landscape. No paleo-scarps or potentially analogous topographic features are evident in pre-earthquake Worldview-1 and Worldview-2 satellite data. Two excavations across the surface rupture expose near-surface fault geometry and mixed aeolian-sheetwash sediment faulted only in the 2016 earthquake. A 10.6 ± 0.4 ka optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) age of sheetwash sediment provides a minimum estimate for the period of quiescence prior to 2016 rupture. Seven cosmogenic beryllium-10 (10Be) bedrock erosion rates are derived for samples 1 Myr interseismic period. Either option reinforces the importance of including distributed earthquake sources in fault displacement and seismic hazard analyses.