Abstract
Deep lower crustal intraplate earthquakes are infrequent and the mechanism of their occurrence is not well understood. The Narmada-Son-lineament region in central India has experienced two such events, the 1938 Satpura earthquake and the 1997 Jabalpur earthquake, having a focal depth of more than 35 km. We have estimated elastic stresses due to the crustal density and mechanical properties heterogeneities along the Hirapur-Mandla profile passing through the Jabalpur earthquake region to analyse conditions suitable for the concentration of shear stresses in the hypocentral region of this earthquake. Elastic stresses have been computed by a finite element method for a range of material parameters. The results indicate that the shear stresses generated by the density heterogeneities alone are not able to locally enhance the stress concentration in the hypocentral region. The role of mechanical properties of various crustal layers is important in achieving this localization of stresses. Among a range of material parameters analysed, the model with a mechanically strong lower crust overlying a relatively weak sub-Moho layer is able to enhance the stress concentration in the hypocentral region, implying a weaker mantle in comparison to the lower crust for this region of central India.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arora B R, Waghmare S Y and Mahashabde M V 1995 Geomagnetic depth sounding along the Hirapur-Mandla-Bhandara profile, Central India; Geol. Soc. India Memoir 31 519–535.
Bungum H, Alsaker A, Kvamme L B and Hansen R A 1991 Seismicity and seismotectonics of Norway and nearby continental shelf areas; J. Geophys. Res. 96 2249–2265.
Chen W P and Molnar P 1983 Focal depths of intracontinental and intraplate earthquakes and their implications for the thermal and mechanical properties of the lithosphere; J. Geophys. Res. 88 4183–4214.
Chung W Y 1993 Source parameters of two riftassociated intraplate earthquakes in peninsular India: The Bhadrachalam earthquake of April 13, 1969 and the Broach earthquake of March 23, 1970; Tectonophys. 225 219–230.
Coblentz D D, Zhou S, Hillis R R, Richardson R M and Sandiford M 1998 Topography, boundary forces, and the Indo-Australian intraplate stress field; J. Geophys. Res. 103 919–931.
Deichmann N 1992 Structural and rheological implications of lower crustal earthquakes below northern Switzerland; Phy. Earth. Planet. Int. 69 270–280.
Deverchere J, Houdry F, Diament M, Solonenko N V and Solonenko A V 1991 Evidence for a seismogenic upper mantle and lower crust in the Baikal rift; Geophys. Res. Lett. 18 1099–1102.
Deverchere J, Petit C, Gileva N, Radziminovitch N, Melnikova V and San’Kov V 2001 Depth distribution of earthquakes in the Baikal rift system and its implications for the rheology of the lithosphere; Geophys. J. Int. 146 714–730.
Doser D I and Yarwood D R 1994 Deep crustal earthquakes associated with continental rifts; Tectonophys. 229 123–131.
Dyksterhuis S and Mueller R D 2004 Modelling the contemporary and palaeo stress field of Australia using finitelement modelling with automatic optimization; Explor. Geophys. 35 236–241.
Foster A N and Jackson J A 1998 Source parameters of large African earthquakes: implications for crustal rheology and regional kinematics; Geophys. J. Int. 134 422–448.
Fuchs K, Bonjer K-P, Gajewski D, Lueschen E, Prodehl C, Sandmeier K-J, Wenzel F and Wilhelm H 1987 Crustal evolution of the Rhinegraben area. 1. Exploring the lower crust in the Rhinegraben rift by unified geophysical experiments; Tectonophys. 141 261–275.
Gokarn S G, Rao C K, Gupta G, Singh B P and Yamashita M 2001 Deep crustal structure in central India using magnetotelluric studies; Geophys. J. Int. 144 685–694.
Gowd T N, Srirama Rao S V and Gaur V K 1992 Tectonic stress field in the Indian subcontinent; J. Geophys. Res. 97 11,879–11,888.
Jackson J 2002 Strength of the continental lithosphere: Time to abandon the jelly sandwich?; GSA Today 12(9) 4–9.
Kaila K L, Murty P R K, Mall D M, Dixit M M and Sarkar D 1987 Deep seismic sounding along Hirapur-Mandla Profile, Central India; Geophys. J. R. Astr. Soc. 89 399–404.
Kaila K L, Murthy P R K and Mall D M 1989 The evolution of Vindhyan basin vis-à-vis the Narmada-Son lineament, central India; Tectonophys. 162 277–289.
Kirby S H 1983 Rheology of the lithosphere; Rev. Geophys. Space Phys. 21 1458–1487.
Kohlstedt D L, Evans B and Mackwell S J 1995 Strength of the lithosphere: Constraints imposed by laboratory experiments; J. Geophys. Res. 100 17,587–17,602.
Mall D M, Kaila K L and Rao V K 1991 Magnetic Body Interpreted at mid-crustal Level between Jabalpur and Mandla as an indicator for the Source Regions for Deccan Basalt; In: Proc. 1st Int. Symp. & Exhibition on ‘Exploration Geophysics in Nineteen Nineties’, Assoc. Expl. Geophysicists, Hyderabad, India.
Mandal P and Singh R N 1996 Three dimensional intraplate stress distribution associated with topography and crustal density inhomogeneities beneath the Deccan Volcanic Province; Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. (Earth Planet. Sci.) 105 143–156.
Mandal P, Manglik A and Singh R N 1997 Intraplate stress distribution induced by topography and crustal density heterogeneities beneath the Latur, India, region; J. Geophys. Res. 102 11,719–11,729.
Manglik A and Singh R N 1991 Rheology of Indian continental crust and upper mantle; Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. (Earth Planet. Sci.) 100 389–398.
Manglik A and Singh R N 1992 Rheological thickness and strength of the Indian continental lithosphere; Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. (Earth Planet. Sci.) 101 339–345.
Manglik A and Singh R N 1999 Rheological stratification of the Indian continental lithosphere: Role of diffusion creep; Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. (Earth Planet. Sci.) 108 15–21.
Manglik A and Singh R N 2002 Thermomechanical structure of the central Indian shield: Constrains from deep crustal seismicity; Curr. Sci. 82 1151–1157.
Meissner R and Strehleau J 1982 Limits of stresses in continental crust and their relation to the depth-frequency distribution of shallow earthquakes; Tectonics 1 73–89.
Mishra D C 1992 Mid-continent gravity ‘high’ of central India and the Gondwana tectonics; Tectonophys. 212 153–161.
Mukherjee S M 1942 Seismological features of the Satpura earthquake of the 14th March 1938; Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. 16 167–175.
Murty A S N, Tewari H C and Reddy P R 2004 2-D Crustal velocity structure along Hirapur-Mandla profile in central India: An update; Pure Appl. Geophys. 161 165–184.
Pauselli C and Federico C 2003 Elastic modelling of the Alto Tiberina normal fault (central Italy): geometry and lithological stratification influences on the local stress field; Tectonophys. 374 99–113.
Ranalli G 1995 Rheology of the earth; Springer 2nd edn, 436pp.
Ravi Shankar 1988 Heat flow map of India and discussion on its geological and economic significance; Indian Minerals 42 88–110.
Seno T and Saito A 1994 Recent East African earthquake in the lower crust; Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 121 125–136.
Shudofsky G N, Cloetingh S, Stein S and Wortel R 1987 unusually deep earthquakes in East Africa: Constraints on the thermo-mechanical structure of a continental rift system; Geophys. Res. Lett 14 741–744.
Singh A P and Meissner R 1995 Crustal configuration of the Narmada-Tapti region (India) from gravity studies; J. Geodynamics 20 111–127.
Singh S K, Dattatrayam R S, Shapiro N M, Mandal P, Pacheco J F and Midha R K 1999 Crust and upper mantle structure of the peninsular India and source parameters of May 21, 1997 Jabalpur earthquake (Mw = 5.8): Results from a new regional broadband network; Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. 89 1631–1641.
Smalley R and Isacks B L 1990 Seismotectonics of thinand thick-skinned deformation in the Andean foreland from local network data: Evidence for a seismogenic lower crust; J. Geophys. Res. 95 12,487–12,498.
Verma R K and Banerjee P 1992 Nature of continental crust along the Narmada-Son lineament, inferred gravity and deep seismic sounding data; Tectonophys. 202 375–397.
Vlasov A N, Mnushkin M G and Yanovsky Yu G 2000 Object-oriented approach in programming of finite element method; In: Proc. 3 rd Int. Conf. on Advances of Computer Methods in Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering (ed.) S. A. Yufin; pp. 367–372. A. A. Balkema Publ. Co.
Vlasov A N, Yanovsky Yu G, Mnushkin M G and Popov A A 2004 Solving geomechanical problems with UWay FEM package; In: Computational Methods in Engineering and Science (ed.) V P Iu; pp. 453–461. Taylor & Francis.
Wong I G and Savage W U 1983 Deep intraplate seismicity in the western Sierra Nevada, central California; Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. 73 797–812.
Wong I G and Chapman D S 1990 Deep intraplate earthquakes in the Western United States and their relationship to lithospheric temperatures; Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. 80 589–599.
Zuber M T, Bechtel T D and Forsyth D W 1989 Effective elastic thickness of the lithosphere and mechanism of isostatic compensation in Australia; J. Geophys. Res. 94 9353–9367.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Manglik, A., Thiagarajan, S., Mikhailova, A.V. et al. Finite element modelling of elastic intraplate stresses due to heterogeneities in crustal density and mechanical properties for the Jabalpur earthquake region, central India. J Earth Syst Sci 117, 103–111 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-008-0001-6
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-008-0001-6