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Seismotectonic study of Kishtwar region of Jammu Province using local broadband seismic data

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Abstract

Two moderate earthquakes of Mw 5.7 on the first of May and Mw 5.2 on the second of August occurred in the Kishtwar region in the year 2013. Our broadband seismic observatories located in the region recorded these events and the aftershocks. We analyzed these data to understand the seismotectonics of this region. Most of the events were located between 33.03° to 33.29° N latitude and 75.40° to 76.07° E longitude. Focal depths of these shallow earthquakes range from 7 to 12 km and are confined between Panjal Thrust (PT) and Kishtwar Window (KW). Spectral analysis of these events reveals that stress drop, source radius, corner frequency, and moment magnitude varied between 3.3 and 70.1 bars, 0.121 and 3.55 km, 0.397 and 6.06 Hz, and Mw 2.2 and Mw 5.7, respectively. The low stress drop of small-magnitude earthquakes reveals the brittle nature of the upper crust which is coincident with the field observations. The variation of stress drop with magnitude shows positive correlation whereas no such relation was observed between stress drop and depth of focus. The b value calculated (0.83) for the area reveals high stress accumulation within the incompetent rock zones in the area.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are very thankful to the Seismology Division, MoES, New Delhi, for funding the Seismology Project under which the seismic observatories were established and the seismic data taken. Discussions with H. N. Srivastava, Naveen Hakhoo, and B. R. Arora proved to be very helpful in finalizing the manuscript. We gratefully acknowledge the anonymous reviewers for their useful and constructive comments that significantly improved the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology, University of Jammu, Jammu, 180006, India

    Shiv Jyoti Pandey, G. M. Bhat, Shveta Puri, Neha Raina, Yudhbir Singh & S. K. Pandita

  2. Geosciences Division, Ministry of Earth Sciences, New Delhi, 110003, India

    Mithila Verma, B. K. Bansal & Anup Sutar

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  1. Shiv Jyoti Pandey
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  2. G. M. Bhat
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Correspondence to Shiv Jyoti Pandey.

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Pandey, S.J., Bhat, G.M., Puri, S. et al. Seismotectonic study of Kishtwar region of Jammu Province using local broadband seismic data. J Seismol 21, 525–538 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10950-016-9614-4

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