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Stress shadow, stress triggering, and recent earthquake activity in the Kashmir Himalaya, India

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Abstract

The Kishtwar-Chamba-Zanskar Region in Kashmir Himalaya show increased earthquake activity during last few years, especially, after the 2013 earthquake sequence in Kishtwar area that includes the 2013 Kishtwar earthquake (MW 5.6). More recently, a similar sequence (2019–2020) has been recorded in the east (Zanskar) and southeast (Chamba) of Kishtwar area. We evaluate the present seismicity scenario of Kishtwar-Chamba-Zanskar Region, which involves spatio-temporal analysis, energy budget, slip-deficit, and coulomb stress transfer, using a homogenized earthquake catalog for the period from 1965 to July 2020. The analysis suggests that 2013 sequence occurred after a quiescence period of ~ 23 years, i.e., from 1991 to April 2013 and the study region was under stress shadow, possibly created by the 1991 Uttarkashi earthquake (MW 6.8). Further, the recent seismic activity since 2013, mark the beginning of new earthquake cycle with frequent moderate earthquakes. The coulomb stress analysis further suggests that stress transfer due to 2013 Kishtwar earthquake (MW 5.6) may have triggered the recent earthquake activity in the region, including 2019–2020 sequence. The energy budget and slip deficit calculated using the earthquake data of more than five decades, indicate that the region has the potential for a large earthquake of MW ~ 7.0.

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Data availability

The earthquake catalog used in the present study and its relevant earthquake raw data (if necessary) can be accessed from the official website of National Center for Seismology at https://seismo.gov.in/seismological-data

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Acknowledgements

Authors express their gratitude to Secretary of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, New Delhi, for his continuous support and encouragement. Earthquake catalog retrieved from the National Centre for Seismology, New Delhi, is acknowledged. We are thankful to Mahesh Parija and Anup Sutar for their help and support. BKB is also thankful to Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi for extending necessary support. RAP is thankful to Joyeeta, Komal, Ojas, and Dhamu for their help and support.

Funding

The earthquake catalog used in the present study has been retrieved from the National Center for Seismology, New Delhi, under Ministry of Earth Sciences, India.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Seismology/Geosciences Division, Ministry of Earth Sciences, New Delhi, India

    R. Arun Prasath, Mithila Verma & Brijesh K. Bansal

  2. Civil Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, India

    Brijesh K. Bansal

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  1. R. Arun Prasath
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  2. Mithila Verma
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  3. Brijesh K. Bansal
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Correspondence to R. Arun Prasath.

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The original online version of this article was revised: The caption for Figures 1, 5 and 6 have been changed from one-column to two-column layout. Correct presentation regarding the corrections made can be found in the erratum/correction for this article.

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Prasath, R.A., Verma, M. & Bansal, B.K. Stress shadow, stress triggering, and recent earthquake activity in the Kashmir Himalaya, India. J Seismol 26, 167–179 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10950-021-10067-4

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