Stopping phase reveals abrupt arrest of large strike-slip earthquakes

Earthquake magnitude is controlled by where and when rupture propagation stops. Yet rupture arrest has rarely been directly observed in near-field seismic records of natural earthquakes. Here we present systematic near-field observations of ground-motion stopping phases from large strike-slip earthquakes. Analysis of 12 global events shows that transient overshoot in fault-parallel ground surface displacement is a robust diagnostic signature of abrupt termination of rupture propagation. Dynamic