Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Shear-wave velocity models in and around north-east India by modelling Rayleigh wave group velocity dispersion data

  • Published:
Journal of Earth System Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Rayleigh wave group velocity dispersion data of moderate magnitude (Mw 5.4) earthquake of Assam, North-East (NE) India, is used to retrieve regional shear wave crustal velocity models. The earthquake located within the northeast part of the Indian continent is well recorded by 10 broadband seismic stations situated on the Indian, Eurasian, and Burmese plates to generate excellent Rayleigh waveforms. Wave propagation paths transverse different geotectonic units in the collision zones of India–Eurasia and India–Burmese in and around NE India. We divide the data into outer and inner station groups depending on epicentre distance. Paths of the inner group mainly pass through the Indian plate, and the outer group crosses the inter-continent zones. The dispersion data and corresponding shear wave structure are not dependent on group division or epicentre distance, indicating diversity in the tectonic and geological setup. Paths crossing the Bengal basin (BB) with thick sediment layers have low velocities, and older crystalline rocks of the Shillong Plateau and Himalayan region have high velocities in the uppermost 10–15 km crust. A very high contrast of crustal velocity is noticed along the paths of Agartala (AGART) and Dhubri (DHUB) stations located at similar epicentre distances and an azimuthal difference of only 55°. Path to AGART along the BB has very low crustal velocities, while DHUB along the entire Shillong Plateau region has very high velocities. Four stations of the inner group within the Indian plate have a high difference in crustal velocities: low velocities within thick sediments of BB and high velocities in the older crystalline rocks of the Shillong plateau. In contrast, in the northern part of the Indo-Burma subduction zone, the subsurface structure shows repeated underthrusting of low-velocity material from the down-going plate and over-thrusting of high-velocity material from the overriding plate.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 7
Figure 8

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Acton C E, Priestley K, Gaur V K and Rai S S 2010 Group velocity tomography of the Indo-Eurasian collision zone; J. Geophys. Res. 115 1–16, https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JB007021.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Angelier J and Baruah S 2009 Seismotectonics in northeast India: A stress analysis of focal mechanism solutions of earthquakes and its kinematic implications; Geophys. J. Int. 178(1) 303–326, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-246X.2009.04107.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bai L, Li G, Khan N G, Zhao J and Ding L 2015 Focal depths and mechanisms of shallow earthquakes in the Himalayan-Tibetan region; Gondwana Res. 41 390–399, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gr.2015.07.009.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baruah M 1995 Body wave investigations in northeast India; PhD thesis, Dibrugarh Univ., Assam, India.

  • Bhattacharya P M, Mukhopadhyay S, Majumdar R K and Kayal J R 2008 3-D seismic structure of the northeast India region and its implications for local and regional tectonics; J. Asian Earth Sci. 33 25–41, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2007.10.020.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bilham R 2006 Comment on “Interpreting the style of faulting and paleoseismicity associated with the 1897 Shillong, northeast India, earthquake” by C. P. Rajendran et al.; Tectonics 25 TC2001, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005TC001893.

  • Bilham R and England P 2001 Plateau “pop-up” in the great 1897 Assam earthquake; Nature 410(6830) 806–809, https://doi.org/10.1038/35071057.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • BIS 2002 Seismic zoning map of India; Bureau of Indian Standard.

  • Bora D K, Hazarika D, Borah K, Rai S S and Baruah S 2014 Crustal shear-wave velocity structure beneath northeast India from teleseismic receiver function analysis; J. Asian Earth Sci. 90 114, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2014.04.005.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brocher T M 2005 Empirical relations between elastic wave speeds and density in the Earth’s crust; B. Seismol. Soc. Am. 95(6) 2081–2092, https://doi.org/10.1785/0120050077.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown L D, Zhao W, Nelson K D, Hauck M, Alsdorf D, Ross A, Cogan M, Clark M, Lui X and Che J 1996 Bright spots, structure, and magmatism in Southern Tibet from INDEPTH seismic reflection profiling; Science 274 1688–1690, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.274.5293.1688.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brune J N, Curray J, Dorman L and Raitt R 1992 A proposed super-thick sedimentary basin, Bay of Bengal; Geophys. Res. Lett. 19 565–568, https://doi.org/10.1029/91GL03134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chanu N M, Kumar N, Kumar A, Mukhopadhyay S and Babu V G 2022 Along-strike variation in the shear wave crustal structure of the NE Himalaya and Indo-Burmese arc: Evidence based on surface wave dispersion analysis; Geol. J. 57(12) 5161–5175, https://doi.org/10.1002/gj.4465.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dasgupta S and Nandy D R 1982 Seismicity and tectonics of Meghalaya Plateau, northeastern India; VII Symp. Earthquake Engineering, University of Roorkee 1 19–24.

  • Dasgupta S, Mukhopadhyay M, Bhattacharya A and Jana T K 2003 The geometry of the Burma–Andaman subducting lithosphere; J. Seismol. 7 155–174, https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023520105384.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De R and Kayal J R 1990 Crustal p-wave velocity and velocity-ratio study in northeast India by a microearthquake survey; Pure Appl. Geophys. 134(1) 93–108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dziewonski A, Bloch S and Landisman M 1969 A technique for the analysis of transient seismic signals; Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. 59(1) 427–444, https://doi.org/10.1785/BSSA0590010427.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Erduran M, Cakir O, Tezel T, Sahin S and Alptekin O 2007 Anatolian surface wave evaluated at GEOFON Station ISP Isparta, Turkey; Tectonophys. 434 39–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gani M R 1999 Depositional history of the Neogene succession exposed in the southeastern fold belt of the Bengal Basin, Bangladesh; MSc Thesis, Univ. of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 61p.

  • Gopala Rao D, Krishna K S and Sar D 1997 Crustal evolution and sedimentation history of the Bay of Bengal since the Cretaceous; J. Geophys. Res. 102 17,747–17,768.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hazarika D, Arora B R and Bora C 2012 Crustal structure and deformation in the northeast India–Asia collision zone: Constraints from receiver function analysis; Geophys. J. Int. 188(3) 737–749, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-246X.2011.05267.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herrmann R B 1973 Some aspects of band-pass filtering of surface waves; Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. 63 663–671.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herrmann R B (ed.) 1978 Computer Programs in Earthquake Seismology; In: General Programs, Vol. 1, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Saint Louis University (NTIS PB\292\462).

  • Herrmann R B 2013 Computer programs in seismology: An evolving tool for instruction and research; Seismol. Res. Lett. 84(6) 1081–1088, https://doi.org/10.1785/0220110096.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herrmann R B and Ammon C J 2002 Computer Programs in Seismology; Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, St Louis University, St Louis, MO, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Islam M S, Shinjo R and Kayal J R 2011 Popup tectonics of the Shillong Plateau in northeastern India: Insight from numerical simulations; Gondwana Res. 20 395–404, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gr.2010.11.007.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kayal J R 1987 Microseismicity and source mechanism study: Shillong Plateau, northeast India; Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. 77(1) 184–194.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kayal J R 1996 Earthquake source processes in northeast India: A review; J. Him. Geol. 17 53–69.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kayal J R and De R 1991 Microseismicity and tectonics in northeast India; Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. 81(1) 131–138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kayal J R and Zhao D 1998 Three-dimensional seismic structure beneath Shillong Plateau and Assam valley, northeast India; Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. 88(3) 667–676.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khan P K 2005 Variation in dip-angle of the Indian Plate subducting beneath the Burma Plate and its tectonic implications; Geosci. J. 9(3) 227–234, https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02910582.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kumar M R, Raju P S, Devi E U, Saul J and Ramesh D S 2004 Crustal structure variations in northeast India from converted phases; Geophys. Res. Lett. 31 L17605, https://doi.org/10.1029/2004GL020576.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kumar A, Mitra S and Suresh G 2015 Seismotectonics of the Eastern Himalayan and Indo-Burma Plate Boundary Systems; Tectonics 34 2279–2295, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015TC003979.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kumar A, Kumar N and Mukhopadhyay S 2018a Investigation of azimuthal variation in seismic surface waves group velocity in the western part of Himalaya–Tibet Indo-Gangetic plains region; Him. Geol. 39(1) 33–46.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kumar A, Mukhopadhyay S, Kumar N and Baidya P R 2018b Lateral variation in crustal and mantle structure in Bay of Bengal based on surface wave data; J. Geodyn. 113 32–42, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jog.2017.11.006.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kumar N, Aoudia A, Guidarelli M, Babu V G, Hazarika D and Yadav D K 2019 Delineation of lithosphere structure and characterisation of the Moho geometry under the Himalaya–Karakoram–Tibet collision zone using surface-wave tomography; Geol. Soc. London, Spec. Publ. 481, https://doi.org/10.1144/SP481-2017-172.

  • Kumar A, Kumar N, Mukhopadhyay S and Klemperer S L 2021 Tomography image of shear wave structure of NE India based on analysis of Rayleigh data; Front. Earth Sci., https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2021.680361.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lowrie W 2007 Fundamentals of Geophysics; 2nd edn., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 381p.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Ludwig W J, Nafe J E and Drake C L 1970 Seismic refraction, in the sea (ed.) A E Maxwell, Wiley-Interscience, New York 4 53–84.

  • Ma S and Motazedian D 2013 Shear wave velocity models retrieved using Rg wave dispersion data in shallow crust in some regions of southern Ontario, Canada; J. Seismol. 17 683–705, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10950-012-9346-z.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Makovsky Y and Klemperer S L 1999 Measuring the seismic properties of Tibetan bright spots: Evidence for free aqueous fluids in the Tibetan Middle Crust; J. Geophys. Res. 104(B5) 10,795–10,825, https://doi.org/10.1029/1998jb900074.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitra S, Priestley K, Bhattacharyya A and Gaur V K 2005 Crustal structure and earthquake focal depths beneath northeastern India and southern Tibet; Geophys. J. Int. 160 227–248, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-246X.2004.02470.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitra S, Priestley K, Borah K and Gaur V K 2018 Crustal structure and evolution of the Eastern Himalayan Plate Boundary System, northeast India; J. Geophys. Res. Solid Earth 123 621–640, https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JB014714.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Molnar P and Tapponnier P 1975 Cenozoic tectonics of Asia: Effect of a continental collision; Science 189(4201) 419–426, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.189.4201.419.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Motazedian D, Ma S and Crane S 2013 Crustal shear-wave velocity models retrieved from Rayleigh-wave dispersion data in northeartern North America; Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. 103(4) 2266–2276, https://doi.org/10.1785/0120120187.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mukhopadhyay M and Dasgupta S 1988 Deep structure and tectonics of the Burmese arc: Constraints from earthquake and gravity data; Tectonophys. 149 299–322, https://doi.org/10.1016/0040-1951(88)90180-1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mukhopadhyay S, Chander R and Khattri K N 1997 Crustal properties in the epicentral tract of the great 1897 Assam earthquake, northeastern India; Tectonophys. 283 311–330, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0040-1951(97)00148-0.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nandy D R 2001 Geodynamics of northeastern India and the adjoining region; ACB Publications, Calcutta, 209p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nandy D R and Dasgupta S 1991 Seismotectonic domains of northeastern India and adjacent areas; Phys. Chem. Earth 18 371–384, https://doi.org/10.1016/0079-1946(91)90010-D.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ni J F, Guzman-Speziale M, Bevis M, Holt W E, Wallace T C and Seager W R 1989 Accretionary tectonics of Burma and the three-dimensional geometry of the Burma subduction zone; Geology 17 68–71, https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1989)017%3c0068:ATOBAT%3e2.3.CO;2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oldham R D 1899 Report on the great earthquake of 12th June, 1897; Geol. Surv. India Memoir 29 1–379.

    Google Scholar 

  • Poddar M C 1950 The Assam earthquake of 15th August, 1950; Ind. Mineral. 4(4) 167–176.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rai S S, Srinagesh D and Rajagopala Sarma P V S S 1996 Morphology of the subducted Indian Plate in the Indo-Burmese convergence zone; Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. (Earth Planet. Sci.) 105 441–450, https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02842315.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rai S S, Prakasam K S and Agarwal N 1999 Pn wave velocity and Moho geometry in northeastern India; Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. (Earth Planet. Sci.) 108 297–304.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raoof J, Mukhopadhyay S, Koulakov I and Kayal J R 2017 3-D seismic tomography of the lithosphere and its geodynamic implications beneath the northeast India region; Tectonics 36(5) 962–980, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016TC004375.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rapine R, Tilmann F, West M, Ni J and Rodgers A 2003 Crustal structure of northern and southern Tibet from surface wave dispersion analysis; J. Geophys. Res. 108 2120, https://doi.org/10.1029/2001JB000445.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saikia S, Baruah S, Chopra S, Gogoi B, Singh U K and Bharali B 2019 An appraisal of crustal structure of the Indo-Burmese subduction region; J. Geodyn. 127 16–30, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jog.2019.05.002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Satyabala S P 2003 Oblique plate convergence in the Indo-Burma (Myanmar) subduction region; Pure Appl. Geophys. 160 1611–1650, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-003-2378-0.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suresh G, Jain S and Bhattacharya S N 2008 Lithosphere of Indus block in the northwestern Indian subcontinent through Genetic Algorithm inversion of surface-wave dispersion; Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. 98(4) 1750–1755.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tillottson E 1953 The Great Assam Earthquake of 1950; In: Compilation of papers on the Assam Earthquake of August 15, 1950 (ed.) Ramchandra Rao M B, Central Board of Geophysics, Calcutta, India 1 94–96.

  • Unsworth M, Wenbo W, Jones A G, Li S, Bedrosian P, Booker J, Sheng J, Ming D and Handong T 2004 Crustal and upper mantle structure of northern Tibet imaged with magnetotelluric data; J. Geophys. Res. 109 B02403, https://doi.org/10.1029/2002JB002305.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Verma R K 1991 Seismicity of the Himalaya and the northeast India, and nature of continent–continent collision; Phys. Chem. Earth 18 345–370.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vernant P, Bilham R, Szeliga W, Drupka D, Kalita S, Bhattacharyya A K, Gaur V K, Pelgay P, Cattin R and Berthet T 2014 Clockwise rotation of the Brahmaputra Valley relative to India: Tectonic convergence in the eastern Himalaya, Naga Hills, and Shillong Plateau; J. Geophys. Res. Solid Earth 119 6558–6571, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JB011196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wei W, Unsworth M, Jones A, Booker J, Tan Nelson D, Chen L, Li S, Solon K, Bedrosian P, Jin S, Deng M, Ledo J, Kay D and Roberts B 2001 Detection of widespread fluids in the Tibetan crust by magnetotelluric studies; Science 292 716–718.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yanovskaya T B, Antonova L M and Kozhevnikov V M 2000 Lateral variations of the upper mantle structure in Eurasia from group velocities of surface waves; Phys. Earth Planet. In. 122 19–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao W and Nelson K D, Project INDEPTH Team 1993 Deep seismic reflection evidence for continental underthrusting beneath southern Tibet; Nature 366 557–559, https://doi.org/10.1038/366557a0.

Download references

Acknowledgements

We are very grateful to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and IRIS website for providing earthquake waveform data for this study. The first author would like to thank all authors and supervisors for supporting this work and the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) for providing a fellowship. We are all very grateful to the two unknown reviewers whose comments and suggestions helped us significantly improve the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, 247 667, India

    Nongmaithem Menaka Chanu & Sagarika Mukhopadhyay

  2. Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, General Mahadeo Singh Road, Dehradun, 248 001, India

    Naresh Kumar & Vivek G Babu

  3. National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, Vasco da Gama, Goa, India

    Amit Kumar

Authors
  1. Nongmaithem Menaka Chanu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Naresh Kumar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Vivek G Babu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Sagarika Mukhopadhyay
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Amit Kumar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Nongmaithem Menaka Chanu: Methodology, validation, formal analysis, data curation, and writing the original draft. Naresh Kumar: Conceptualisation, validation, investigation, resources, writing – review & editing, supervision. Vivek G Babu: Validation, formal analysis and data curation. Sagarika Mukhopadhyay: Conceptualization, validation, investigation, resources, writing – review & editing, supervision, and funding acquisition. Amit Kumar: Validation, formal analysis and data curation.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Naresh Kumar.

Additional information

Communicated by Arkoprovo Biswas

Supplementary materials pertaining to this article are available on the Journal of Earth System Science website (http://www.ias.ac.in/Journals/Journal_of_Earth_System_Science).

Supplementary Information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (RTF 56218 KB)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Chanu, N.M., Kumar, N., Babu, V.G. et al. Shear-wave velocity models in and around north-east India by modelling Rayleigh wave group velocity dispersion data. J Earth Syst Sci 132, 170 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-023-02193-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-023-02193-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation