Abstract
Crustal structure beneath the major tectonic domains comprising northeast India is investigated using receiver function analyses of teleseismic earthquakes recorded at 19 new broadband seismic stations, combined with Moho depth and Poisson’s ratio information from 14 previous studies. Velocity structure inverted from receiver functions are combined with results from H–k stacking and validated using forward modeling of gravity data. The Shillong Plateau in the western Brahmaputra River Valley, later representing the Himalayan foredeep, is inferred to have a thin (33–35 km) felsic crust. A dome-shaped, 5-km-thick high-velocity layer in the upper crust likely accounts for positive Bouguer anomaly over the plateau. The Upper Assam basin in the eastern Brahmaputra River Valley is marked by pronounced gravity low, high Poisson’s ratio, and a pair of low- and high-velocity layers in the crust. This narrow segment demarcates the crust of oceanic affinity extending from the Indo-Burmese Wedge. Further to the south of Dauki fault, under the ~ 10-km-thick wedge, a two-layered crust comprising 5–15-km-thick delta sediments overlying a ~ 20-km-thick basement of oceanic affinity extends from Bay of Bengal to the Churachandrapur-Mao Fault, where the deep basement subducts upon collision with the Burmese micro-plate. East of the collision boundary, the overriding Burmese micro-plate having a thin crust of ~ 30 km, including ~ 15-km-thick low-velocity sediments, is imaged beneath Central Myanmar Basin. The findings shed new light on the tectonic reactivation of the different domains of northeast India upon collision with the Himalaya to the north and Burmese micro-plate to the east.
Graphical Abstract
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
Teleseismic earthquakes used in the present study are obtained from the national data bank of the National Centre for Seismology, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India. The data can be obtained on written request to The Director, NCS, (director-ncs@gov.in). The timing and other parameters of teleseismic earthquakes used here for receiver function analysis were extracted from C-PDE catalogue of US Geological Survey (http://neic.usgs.gov). Supplementary section includes a few key synthetic receiver functions simulated for the region-specific velocity structure, e.g., sedimentary basin, sharp velocity interfaces and/or low-velocity layers sandwiched between high-velocity markers, which help to characterize the variety of RFs registered in the present study.
References
Acharyya SK, Ray KK, Sengupta S (1990) Tectonics of the ophiolite belt from Naga Hills and Andaman Islands India. Proc Indian Acad Sci (earth Planet Sci) 99:187–199. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02839389
Acton CE, Priestley K, Mitra S, Gaur VK (2011) Crustal structure of the Darjeeling-Sikkim Himalaya and southern Tibet. Geophys J Int 184:829–852. https://doi.org/10.1111/j1365-246X201004868x
Alam M, Alam MM, Curray JR, Chowdhury MLR, Gani MR (2003) An overview of the sedimentary geology of the Bengal Basin in relation to the regional tectonic framework and basin-fill history. Sediment Geol 155(3–4):179–208. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0037-0738(02)00180-X
Ambraseys NN, Douglas J (2004) Magnitude calibration of north Indian earthquakes. Geophys J Int 159:165–206
Ammon CJ, Randall GE, Zandt G (1990) On the non-uniqueness of receiver function inversions. J Geophys Res 95:15303–15318. https://doi.org/10.1029/jb095ib10p15303
Bannert D, Helmcke D (1981) The evolution of the Asian Plate in Burma. Geol Rundsch 70:446–458. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01822125
Bansal BK, Pandey AP, Singh AP, Suresh G, Singh RK, Gautam JL (2021) National seismological network in India for real-time earthquake monitoring. Seismol Res Lett 92:255–2269. https://doi.org/10.1785/0220200327
Bhattacharya PM, Pujol J, Majumdar RK, Kayal JR (2005) Relocation of earthquakes in the Northeast Indian region using joint hypocentre determination method. Curr Sci 89:1404–1413
Bhattacharya PM, Mukhopadhyay S, Majumdar RK, Kayal JR (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/jjseaes200710020
Bilham R, England P (2001) Plateau “pop-up” in the great 1897 Assam earthquake. Nature 410:806–809. https://doi.org/10.1038/35071057
Bonvalot S, Balmino G, Briais A, Kuhn M, Peyrefitte A, Vales N, Biancale R, Gabalda G, Moreaux G, Reinquin F, Sarrailh M (2012) World gravity map. Bureau Gravim Int (BGI) 1:1–8
Byerlee J (1990) Friction overpressure and fault normal compression. Geophys Res Lett 17:2109–2212. https://doi.org/10.1029/GL017i012p02109
Caldwell WB, Klemperer SL, Lawrence JF, Rai SS, Ashish (2013) Characterizing the Main Himalayan Thrust in the Garhwal Himalaya India with receiver function CCP stacking. Earth Planet Sci Lett 367:15–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/jepsl201302009
Cassidy JF (1992) Numerical experiments in broadband receiver function analysis. Bull Seismol Soc Am 82:1453–1474. https://doi.org/10.1785/bssa0820031453
Chen W, Molnar P (1990) Source parameters of earthquakes and intraplate deformation beneath the Shillong Plateau and the northern Indo-burman ranges. J Geophys Res 95:12527–12552. https://doi.org/10.1029/jb095ib08p12527
Clark MK, Bilham R (2008) Miocene rise of the Shillong Plateau and the beginning of the end for the Eastern Himalaya. Earth Planet Sci Lett 269:337–351. https://doi.org/10.1016/jepsl200801045
Darbyshire FA, Eaton DW, Frederiksen AW, Ertolahti L (2007) New insights into the lithosphere beneath the superior province from Rayleigh wave dispersion and receiver function analysis. Geophys J Int 169:1043–1068. https://doi.org/10.1111/j1365-246X200603259x
Dasgupta AA, Biswas (2000) Geology of Assam. Geolo Soc Ind Bangalore, p 169 (ISBN No: 81-85867-44-5)
Dasgupta S, Narula PL, Acharyya SK, Banerjee J (2000) Seismotectonic atlas of India and its environs. Geol Sur Ind Kolkata, spl.59 (ISBN: ISSN: 02540436)
De R, Kayal JR (1990) Crustal P-wave velocity and velocity-ratio study in northeast India by a microearthquake survey. Pure Appl Geophys 134(1):93–108. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00878082
Diehl T, Singer J, Hetényi G, Grujic D, Clinton J, Giardini D, Kissling E, GANSSER Working Group (2017) Seismotectonics of Bhutan: evidence for segmentation of the Eastern Himalayas and link to foreland deformation. Earth Planet Sci Lett 471:54–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/jepsl201704038
England P, Bilham R (2015) The Shillong Plateau and the great 1897 Assam earthquake. Tectonics 34(9):1792–1812. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015TC003902
Evans P (1964) The tectonic framework of Assam. Geol Soc Ind 5:80–96
Everett JR, Russell OR (1990) Regional tectonics of Myanmar (Burma) and adjacent areas. Abstract AAPG Bull. https://doi.org/10.1306/44b4b086-170a-11d7-8645000102c1865d
Gahalaut VK, Kundu B, Laishram SS, Catherine J, Kumar A, Devchandra SM (2013) Aseismic plate boundary in the Indo-Burmese wedge northwest Sunda Arc. Geology 41(2):235–238. https://doi.org/10.1130/G337711
Gahalaut VK, Martin SS, Srinagesh D, Kapil SL, Suresh G, Saikia S (2016) Seismological geodetic macroseismic and historical context of the 2016 Mw 67 Tamenglong (Manipur) India earthquake. Tectonophysics 688:36–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/jtecto201609017
Gansser A (1964) Geology of the Himalayas. Wiley, London, p 289
GMSI Gravity Map Series of India (GMSI) (2006) Publisher National Geophysical Research Institute & Geological Survey of India Hyderabad India. http://ngriorgin/pdffiles/aboutngri/gravitymap.pdf
Gokarn SG, Gupta G, Walia D, Sanabam SS, Hazarika N (2008) Deep geoelectric structure over the Lower Brahmaputra valley and Shillong Plateau NE India using magnetotellurics. Geophys J Int 173(1):92–104. https://doi.org/10.1111/j1365-246X200703711x
Govin G, Najman Y, Copley A, Millar I, van der Beek P, Huyghe P (2018) Timing and mechanism of the rise of the Shillong Plateau in the Himalayan foreland. Geology 46(3):279–282. https://doi.org/10.1130/G398641
Guzman-Speziale M, Ni J (1996) Seismicity and active tectonics of the western Sunda Arc. In: Yin A, Harrison TM (eds) The tectonic evolution of Asia. Cambridge Univ. Press, New York, pp 63–84
Hall R (1997) Cenozoic plate tectonic reconstructions of SE Asia. Geol Soc Spec Publ 126:11–23. https://doi.org/10.1144/GSLSP19971260103
Hazarika D, Arora BR, 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/j1365-246X201105267x
Heise W, Caldwell TG, Bertrand EA, Hill GJ, Bennie SL, Ogawa Y (2013) Changes in electrical resistivity track changes in tectonic plate coupling. Geophys Res Lett 40(19):5029–5033. https://doi.org/10.1002/grl50959
Hetényi G, Cattin R, Vergne J, Nábělek JL (2006) The effective elastic thickness of the India Plate from receiver function imaging gravity anomalies and thermomechanical modeling. Geophys J Int 167(3):1106–1118. https://doi.org/10.1111/j1365-246X200603198x
Holt WE, Ni JF, Wallace TC, Haines AJ (1991) The active tectonics of the eastern Himalayan syntaxis and surrounding regions. J Geophys Res 96(B9):14595–14632. https://doi.org/10.1029/91jb0102114
Ji S, Wang Q, Salisbury MH (2009) Composition and tectonic evolution of the Chinese continental crust constrained by Poisson’s ratio. Tectonophysics 463(1–4):15–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/jtecto200809007
Kamiya S, Kobayashi Y (2000) Seismological evidence for the existence of serpentinized wedge mantle. Geophys Res Lett 27(6):819–822. https://doi.org/10.1029/1999GL011080
Kayal JR, Zhao D (1998) Three-dimensional seismic structure beneath Shillong Plateau and Assam Valley northeast India. Bull Seismol Soc Am 88(3):667–676. https://doi.org/10.1785/BSSA0880030667
Kayal JR, Arefiev SS, Baruah S, Tatevossian R, Gogoi N, Sanoujam M et al (2010) The 2009 Bhutan and Assam felt earthquakes (Mw 63 and 51) at the Kopili fault in the northeast Himalaya region. Geomat Nat Hazards Risk 3:273–281. https://doi.org/10.1080/194757052010486561
Khogenkumar S, Singh AK, Kumar S, Lakhan N, Chaubey M, Imtisunep S et al (2021) Subduction versus non-subduction origin of the Nagaland-Manipur Ophiolites along the Indo-Myanmar Orogenic Belt northeast India: Fact and fallacy. Geol J 56(4):1773–1794. https://doi.org/10.1002/gj4030
Kind R, Yuan X (2021) Seismic receiver function technique, Encyclopedia of Solid Earth Geophysics
Kumar MR, Raju PS, Devi EU, Saul J, Ramesh DS (2004) Crustal structure variations in northeast India from converted phases. Geophys Res Lett 31(17):2–5. https://doi.org/10.1029/2004GL020576
Kumar A, Mitra S, Suresh G (2015) Seismotectonics of the eastern Himalayan and indo-burman plate boundary systems. Tectonics 34(11):2279–2295. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015TC003979
Kundu B, Gahalaut VK (2012) Earthquake occurrence processes in the Indo-Burmese wedge and Sagaing fault region. Tectonophysics 524:135–146. https://doi.org/10.1016/jtecto201112031
Kundu A, Hazarika D, Hajra S, Singh AK, Ghosh P (2020) Crustal thickness and Poisson’s ratio variations in the northeast India-Asia collision zone: insight into the Tuting-Tidding Suture zone eastern Himalaya. J Asian Earth Sci. https://doi.org/10.1016/jjseaes2019104099
Langston CA (1977) The effect of planar dipping structure on source and receiver responses for constant ray parameter. Bull Seismol Soc Am 67:1029–1050. https://doi.org/10.1785/BSSA0670041029
Levin V, Park J (1997) Crustal anisotropy in the Ural Mountains foredeep from teleseismic receiver functions. Geophys Res Lett 24(11):1283–1286. https://doi.org/10.1029/97GL51321
Ligorria JP, Ammon CJ (1999) Iterative deconvolution and receiver-function estimation. Bull Seismol Soc Am 89(5):1395–1400. https://doi.org/10.1785/bssa0890051395L
Maurin T, Rangin C (2009) Structure and kinematics of the Indo-Burmese Wedge: recent and fast growth of the outer wedge. Tectonics 28(2):1–21. https://doi.org/10.1029/2008TC002276
Mitra S, Priestley K, Bhattacharyya AK, Gaur VK (2005) Crustal structure and earthquake focal depths beneath northeastern India and southern Tibet. Geophys J Int 160(1):227–248. https://doi.org/10.1111/j1365-246X200402470x
Mitra G, Bhattacharyya K, Mukul M (2010) The Lesser Himalayan duplex in Sikkim: implications for variations in Himalayan shortening. J Geol Soc India 75:289–301
Mitra S, Kainkaryam SM, Padhi A, Rai SS, Bhattacharya SN (2011) The Himalayan foreland basin crust and upper mantle. Phys Earth Planet Int 1841:34–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pepi.2010.10.009
Mitra S, Priestley KF, Borah K, Gaur VK (2018) Crustal structure and evolution of the Eastern Himalayan Plate Boundary System Northeast India. J Geophys Res Solid Earth 123(1):621–640. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JB014714
Nabelek J, Hetenyi G, Vergne J, Sapkota S, Kafle B, Jiang M, Su H, Chen J, Huang B (2009) The Hi-CLIMB Team, 2009, Underplating in the Himalaya– Tibet collision zone revealed by the Hi-CLIMB experiment. Science 325:1371–1374
Nafe JE, Drake CL (1957) Variation with depth in shallow and deep water marine sediments of porosity density and the velocities of compressional and shear waves. Geophysics 22(3):523–552. https://doi.org/10.1190/11438386
Nandy DR (2001) Geodynamics of North-eastern India and Adjoining Region. ACB Publications, p 272
Ni J, Barazangi M (1984) Seismotectonics of the Himalayan collision zone: geometry of the underthrusting Indian plate beneath the Himalaya. J Geophys Res 89(B2):1147–1163. https://doi.org/10.1029/JB089iB02p01147
Oldham RD (1899) Report on the Great Earthquake of 12th June 1897. Memoirs Geol Surv India, Calcutta, pp 1–379
Panda D, Kundu B, Santosh M (2018) Oblique convergence and strain partitioning in the outer deformation front of NE Himalaya. Sci Rep 8(1):1–9. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-28774-3
Rai SS, Priestley K, Gaur VK, Mitra S, Singh SP, Searle M (2006) Configuration of the Indian Moho beneath the NW Himalaya and Ladakh. Geophys Res Lett 33:L15308. https://doi.org/10.1029/2006GL026076
Rajendran CP, Rajendran K, Duarah BP, Baruah S, Earnest A (2004) Interpreting the style of faulting and paleoseismicity associated with the 1897 Shillong northeast India earthquake: implications for regional tectonism. Tectonics 23(4):1–12. https://doi.org/10.1029/2003TC001605
Raoof J, Mukhopadhyay S, Koulakov I, Kayal JR (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
Rawat G, Arora BR, Gupta PK (2014) Electrical resistivity cross-section across the Garhwal Himalaya: proxy to fluid-seismicity linkage. Tectonophysics 637:68–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/jtecto201409015
Rondenay S, Bostock MG, Shragge J (2001) Multiparameter two-dimensional inversion of scattered teleseismic body waves 3. Application to the Cascadia 1993 data set. J Geophys Res Solid Earth 106(B12):30795–30807. https://doi.org/10.1029/2000jb000039
Saha D (2013) Lesser Himalayan sequences in Eastern Himalaya and their deformation: implications for Paleoproterozoic tectonic activity along the northern margin of India. Geosci Front 4(3):289–304. https://doi.org/10.1016/jgsf201301004
Saikia S, Chopra S, Baruah S, Singh UK (2017) Shallow sedimentary structure of the Brahmaputra valley constraint from receiver functions analysis. Pure Appl Geophys 174(1):229–247. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-016-1371-3
Saikia S, Baruah S, Chopra S, Gogoi B, Singh UK, Bharali B (2019) An appraisal of crustal structure of the Indo-Burmese subduction region. J Geodyn 127:16–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/jjog201905002
Schulte-Pelkum V, Monsalve G, Sheehan A, Pandey MR, Sapkota S, Bilham R, Wu F (2005) Imaging the Indian subcontinent beneath the Himalaya. Nature 435:122–1225. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03678
Shen W, Ritzwoller MH, Schulte-Pelkum V, Lin FC (2013) Joint inversion of surface wave dispersion and receiver functions: A Bayesianmonte-Carlo approach, Geophys J Int 192(2):807–836. https://doi.org/10.1093/gji/ggs050
Singer J, Kissling E, Diehl T, Hetényi G (2017) The under thrusting Indian crust and its role in collision dynamics of the Eastern Himalaya in Bhutan: Insights from receiver function imaging. J Geophys Res Solid Earth 122(2):1152–1178. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JB013337
Singh A, Kumar MR, Raju PS (2010) Seismic structure of the under thrusting Indian crust in Sikkim Himalaya. Tectonics. https://doi.org/10.1029/2010TC002722
Singh A, Bhushan K, Singh C, Steckler MS, Akhter SH, Seeber L et al (2016) Crustal structure and tectonics of Bangladesh: new constraints from inversion of receiver functions. Tectonophysics 680:99–112. https://doi.org/10.1016/jtecto201604046
Steckler MS, Akhter SH, Seeber L (2008) Collision of the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta with the Burma Arc: implications for earthquake hazard. Earth Planet Sci Lett 273(3–4):367–378. https://doi.org/10.1016/jepsl200807009
Subedi S, Hetényi G (2021) Precise locating of the Great 1897 Shillong Plateau earthquake using teleseismic and regional seismic phase data. Seismic Rec 1(3):135–144. https://doi.org/10.1785/0320210031
Thakur VC, Jain AK (1975) Some observation on deformation metamorphism and tectonic significance of the rocks of some parts of Mishmi hills Lohit district NEFA Arunachal Pradesh. Him Geol 5:339–364
Verma RK, Mukhopadhyay M (1977) An analysis of the gravity field in Northeastern India. Tectonophysics 42(2–4):283–317. https://doi.org/10.1016/0040-1951(77)90171-8
Vernant P, Bilham R, Szeliga W, Drupka D, Kalita S, Bhattacharyya AK et al (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(8):6558–6571. https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JB011196
Wang X, Wei S, Wang Y, Maung MP, Hubbard J, Banerjee P et al (2019) A 3-D shear wave velocity model for Myanmar Region. J Geophys Res Solid Earth 124(1):504–526. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JB016622
Watanabe T (1993) Effects of water and melt on seismic velocities and their application to characterization of seismic reflectors. Geophys Res Lett 20(24):2933–2936. https://doi.org/10.1029/93GL03170
Xu L, Rondenay S, van der Hilst RD (2007) Structure of the crust beneath the southeastern Tibetan Plateau from teleseismic receiver functions. Phys Earth Planet Int 165(3–4):176–193. https://doi.org/10.1016/jpepi200709002
Yin A (2006) Cenozoic tectonic evolution of the Himalayan orogen as constrained by along strike variation of structural geometry exhumation history and foreland sedimentation. Earth Sci Rev 76:1–131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2005.05.004
Yin A, Dubey C, Webb A, Kelty T, Grove M, Gehrels G, Burgess W (2010) Geologic correlation of the Himalayan orogen and Indian craton: part 1 structural geology U-Pb zircon geochronology and tectonic evolution of the Shillong Plateau and its neighbouring regions in NE India. Geol Soc Am Bull 122(3–4):336–359. https://doi.org/10.1130/B26460.1
Zhu L, Kanamori H (2000) Moho depth variation in southern California from teleseismic receiver functions. J Geophys Res Solid Earth 105(B2):2969–2980. https://doi.org/10.1029/1999jb900322
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences for his kind encouragement and support for seismological monitoring and research. The present work was initiated when one of us (B.R.A.) was serving as a Consultant to the Division of Seismology, MoES. He places on record his gratitude to the present and previous Secretary, MoES as well as to the Director of the National Centre for Seismology for facilitating close interactions with several experienced staff and young research scholars. Authors acknowledge with thanks the informal discussions with Vineet Gahalaut and Devajit Hazarika, which provided deep insights into several aspects of active tectonics, geodynamics of northeast India as well as intricacies involved in the Receiver Function technique. The authors duly applaud the constructive comments of both reviewers, which have helped them to summarize the results coherently. Sukanta Roy, Head of the Borehole Geophysical Research Laboratory, MoES, and Devajit Hazarika, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, read the manuscript critically and made many useful revisions in language and presentation, which are gratefully acknowledged. The authors extend their heartfelt appreciation to the Chief Editor, Ulrich Ritter and Topic Editor, Alexander Cruden, for his diligent assessment of the scope of the manuscript and several fruitful suggestions for improvement. Their constructive suggestions, aimed at clarifying ambiguities and enhancing the overall presentation of the original manuscript, are acknowledged with gratitude.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
We declare that we have no financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that can inappropriately influence our work, and there is no professional or other personal interest of any nature or kind in any product, service and/or company that could be construed as influencing the position presented in, or the review of, the manuscript entitled.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Arora, B.R., Prajapati, S.K., Saikia, S. et al. Crustal structure of Northeast India as evidenced by receiver function imaging: tectonic and geodynamic implications. Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-024-02393-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-024-02393-y