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Seismic profile analysis of the Kangra and Dehradun re-entrant of NW Himalayan Foreland thrust belt, India: A new approach to delineate subsurface geometry

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Abstract

In the NW Sub-Himalayan frontal thrust belt in India, seismic interpretation of subsurface geometry of the Kangra and Dehradun re-entrant mismatch with the previously proposed models. These procedures lack direct quantitative measurement on the seismic profile required for subsurface structural architecture. Here we use a predictive angular function for establishing quantitative geometric relationships between fault and fold shapes with ‘Distance–displacement method’ (D–d method). It is a prognostic straightforward mechanism to probe the possible structural network from a seismic profile. Two seismic profiles Kangra-2 and Kangra-4 of Kangra re-entrant, Himachal Pradesh (India), are investigated for the fault-related folds associated with the Balh and Paror anticlines. For Paror anticline, the final cut-off angle \(\beta =35{^{\circ }}\) was obtained by transforming the seismic time profile into depth profile to corroborate the interpreted structures. Also, the estimated shortening along the Jawalamukhi Thrust and Jhor Fault, lying between the Himalayan Frontal Thrust (HFT) and the Main Boundary Thrust (MBT) in the frontal fold-thrust belt, were found to be 6.06 and 0.25 km, respectively. Lastly, the geometric method of fold-fault relationship has been exercised to document the existence of a fault-bend fold above the Himalayan Frontal Thrust (HFT). Measurement of shortening along the fault plane is employed as an ancillary tool to prove the multi-bending geometry of the blind thrust of the Dehradun re-entrant.

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Acknowledgements

This study was done while Joyjit Dey, Subham Sarkar and Anamitra Bhowmik were hosted by the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG), Dehradun with Dr R Jayagondaperumal under the Indian Academy of Sciences (IAS)-SRFP-2015 summer fellow grant. Director, WIHG, Dehradun, is kindly acknowledged. Also, we are thankful to Dr Soumyajit Mukherjee (IIT Bombay), Simachal Padhy (NGRI, Hyderabad) for their detailed review and useful remarks. We are grateful to Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) for allowing us to use their seismic profiles. Last but not the least, we would also like to thank Dr N Purnachanda Rao, Associate Editor, JESS, for his help and support throughout this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, 721 302, India

    Joyjit Dey

  2. Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun, 248 001, India

    R Jayangonda Perumal

  3. Presidency University, Kolkata, 700 073, India

    Subham Sarkar

  4. Jadavpur University, Jadavpur, Kolkata, 700 032, India

    Anamitra Bhowmik

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  1. Joyjit Dey
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Correspondence to R Jayangonda Perumal.

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Corresponding editor: Purnachandra Rao

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Dey, J., Perumal, R.J., Sarkar, S. et al. Seismic profile analysis of the Kangra and Dehradun re-entrant of NW Himalayan Foreland thrust belt, India: A new approach to delineate subsurface geometry. J Earth Syst Sci 126, 83 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-017-0869-0

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