Abstract
We present new insights on the time-averaged surface velocities, convergence and extension rates along arc-normal transects in Kumaon, Garhwal and Kashmir–Himachal regions in the Indian Himalaya from 13 years of high-precision Global Positioning System (GPS) time series (1995–2008) derived from GPS data at 14 GPS permanent and 42 campaign stations between \(29.5{-}35^{\circ }\hbox {N}\) and \(76{-}81^{\circ }\hbox {E}\). The GPS surface horizontal velocities vary significantly from the Higher to Lesser Himalaya and are of the order of 30 to 48 mm/year NE in ITRF 2005 reference frame, and 17 to 2 mm/year SW in an India fixed reference frame indicating that this region is accommodating less than 2 cm/year of the India–Eurasia plate motion (\({\sim }4~\hbox {cm/year}\)). The total arc-normal shortening varies between \({\sim }10{-}14~\hbox {mm/year}\) along the different transects of the northwest Himalayan wedge, between the Indo-Tsangpo suture to the north and the Indo-Gangetic foreland to the south indicating high strain accumulation in the Himalayan wedge. This convergence is being accommodated differentially along the arc-normal transects; \({\sim } 5{-}10~\hbox {mm/year}\) in Lesser Himalaya and 3–4 mm/year in Higher Himalaya south of South Tibetan Detachment. Most of the convergence in the Lesser Himalaya of Garhwal and Kumaon is being accommodated just south of the Main Central Thrust fault trace, indicating high strain accumulation in this region which is also consistent with the high seismic activity in this region. In addition, for the first time an arc-normal extension of \({\sim }6~\hbox {mm/year}\) has also been observed in the Tethyan Himalaya of Kumaon. Inverse modeling of GPS-derived surface deformation rates in Garhwal and Kumaon Himalaya using a single dislocation indicate that the Main Himalayan Thrust is locked from the surface to a depth of \({\sim }15{-}20~\hbox {km}\) over a width of 110 km with associated slip rate of \({\sim }16{-}18~\hbox {mm/year}\). These results indicate that the arc-normal rates in the Northwest Himalaya have a complex deformation pattern involving both convergence and extension, and rigorous seismo-tectonic models in the Himalaya are necessary to account for this pattern. In addition, the results also gave an estimate of co-seismic and post-seismic motion associated with the 1999 Chamoli earthquake, which is modeled to derive the slip and geometry of the rupture plane.
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Acknowledgments
We sincerely thank the reviewers of the paper for their valuable time and effort and their comments vastly improved the quality of this manuscript. We acknowledge the grant of Department of Science and Technology, DST (ESS/CA/A9-14 IRHPA; ESS/16/GPS/20/2002) and Ministry of Earth Sciences, MoES (MoES/P.O./Seismo/GPS/36/05), Government of India to establish permanent GPS stations and to carry out regional GPS surveys to rigorously constrain the complex deformation regime in the Western and Northwestern Himalayas. We acknowledge the discussions with our colleagues Dr. M. S. M. Vijayan on Global GPS data analysis and Dr. Anil Earnest for GAMIT/GLOBK and computing system support. We acknowledge Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Ladakh division, for the continuous support in operation and maintenance of the continuous GPS sites in Ladakh region. We thank Director, G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development for his support in operation of continuous GPS stations in Northwest Himalaya. We acknowledge the support of Head, CSIR-4PI for the GPS programme. We acknowledge the technical help of Ms. Shimna in the preparation of the manuscript. This is a part of CSIR-4PI, ARiEES (Advanced Research in Engineering and Earth Sciences) contribution.
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Jade, S., Mukul, M., Gaur, V.K. et al. Contemporary deformation in the Kashmir–Himachal, Garhwal and Kumaon Himalaya: significant insights from 1995–2008 GPS time series. J Geod 88, 539–557 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00190-014-0702-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00190-014-0702-3