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Liquefaction record of the great 1934 earthquake predecessors from the north Bihar alluvial plains of India

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Abstract

The great 1934 Himalayan earthquake of moment magnitude (Mw) 8.1 generated a large zone of ground failure and liquefaction in north Bihar, India, in addition to the earthquakes of 1833 (Mw ~7.7) and 1988 (Mw 6.7) that have also impacted this region. Here, we present the results of paleoliquefaction investigations from four sites in the plains of north Bihar and one in eastern Uttar Pradesh. The liquefaction features generated by successive earthquakes were dated at AD 829–971, 886–1090, 907–1181, 1130–1376, 1112–1572, 1492–1672, 1733–1839, and 1814–1854. One of the liquefaction events dated at AD 829–971, 886–1090, and 907–1181 may correlate with the great earthquake of AD ~1100, recognized in an earlier study from the sections across the frontal thrust in central eastern Nepal. Two late medieval liquefaction episodes of AD 1130–1376 and 1492–1672 were also exposed in our sites. The sedimentary sections also revealed sandblows that can be attributed to the 1833 earthquake, a lesser magnitude event compared to the 1934. Liquefactions triggered by the 1934 and 1988 earthquakes were evident within the topmost level in some sections. The available data lead us to conjecture that a series of temporally close spaced earthquakes of both strong and large types, not including the infrequent great earthquakes like the 1934, have affected the Bihar Plains during the last 1500 years with a combined recurrence interval of 124 ± 63 years.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the Seismology Division, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India. We thank the principal and students of Engineering College at Darbhanga, Bihar, for arranging logistics and assistance to conduct the fieldwork. We are most grateful to the anonymous reviewer for constructive comments and corrections through several iterations and also to Matthew Wood (Melbourne University, Australia) for a feedback on the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geodynamics Unit, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore, 560064, India

    C. P. Rajendran & Jaishri Sanwal

  2. National Institute of Rock Mechanics, Kolar Gold Fields, 563117, India

    Biju John

  3. Centre for Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 560012, India

    Kusala Rajendran

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  1. C. P. Rajendran
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Correspondence to C. P. Rajendran.

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Rajendran, C.P., John, B., Rajendran, K. et al. Liquefaction record of the great 1934 earthquake predecessors from the north Bihar alluvial plains of India. J Seismol 20, 733–745 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10950-016-9554-z

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