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A study of Palnadu earthquake sequence in the Cuddapah basin and its tectonic implications

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Abstract

On January 26, 2020, a moderate-sized earthquake (ML ~ 4.6) located in the Palnadu sub-basin of Cuddapah basin was felt both in the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The earthquakes prior and after the ML 4.6 are located close to the thrust and along the periphery of the backwaters of the Pulichintala Reservoir. About 965 earthquakes in the magnitude range of 0.1–4.6 ML have been located by seismological network. The epicentral parameters obtained from double difference technique illuminated a steep seismogenic structure extending up to 8 km depth using a minimum 1-D velocity model. The b-value estimate is 0.82 for a completeness magnitude of Mc 1.8 and could be associated with the intraplate event having a longer recurrence time. The focal mechanism solution obtained from waveform inversion reveals a pure double-couple mechanism of a strike-slip motion with a reverse component on a N–S trending focal plane. The spatial distribution of the earthquake sequence and fault plane solution of the main event are close to a thrust which is the most likely source region of the main-shock.

Highlights

  • Relocation of the Palnadu earthquake sequence illuminated a steep seismogenic structure extending up to 8 km depth.

  • The estimated lower b-value (0.82) could be associated with the intraplate event having a longer recurrence time.

  • The focal mechanism solution of the main-shock (ML 4.6) shows a strike-slip motion with a reverse component.

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Acknowledgements

We are thankful to the Director, CSIR-NGRI Hyderabad for his support and permission to publish this work. This research was supported by the Mission Mode Project of CSIR, HCP-17 CSIR-NGRI. We are grateful to the Editor, N V Chalapathi Rao and two anonymous reviewers for providing us with interesting suggestions that helped us in improving the article’s scientific quality as well as its readability. The lead author acknowledges the help rendered by district authorities in obtaining permissions and logistic support for the installation of the closed spacing seismic station network. Maps were plotted using the Generic Mapping Tools (Wessel and Smith 1998).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CSIR-National Geophysical Research Institute, Uppal Road, Hyderabad, 500 007, India

    D Srinagesh, T C Sunilkumar, B Naresh, S Vitthal, Dhiraj K Singh, Ravi P Singh, Mahalaxmi Naidu, G Suresh, P Solomon Raju, V Pavan Kumar, Prantik Mandal & A N S Sarma

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  1. D Srinagesh
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  2. T C Sunilkumar
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  3. B Naresh
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  4. S Vitthal
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  5. Dhiraj K Singh
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  7. Mahalaxmi Naidu
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  8. G Suresh
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  9. P Solomon Raju
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  10. V Pavan Kumar
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  11. Prantik Mandal
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  12. A N S Sarma
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Contributions

Overall, this work has been supervised and conceptualized by Dr D Srinagesh, who planned, executed the field program, and significantly contributed in writing the paper. Sunilkumar T C contributed in estimating the focal mechanism and manuscript preparation; Dr Prantik Mandal for estimating 1-D velocity model and b-values; Naresh Bandari and Dr Solomon Raju involved in recomputing the seismicity and plotting the trends. Vitthal S, Dhiraj K Singh, Dr V Pavan Kumar, Ravi P Singh, Mahalaxmi Naidu, Suresh Gudapati, and A N S Sarma involved in deployment of seismological stations data collection and analysis.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to D Srinagesh.

Additional information

Communicated by N V Chalapathi Rao

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Srinagesh, D., Sunilkumar, T.C., Naresh, B. et al. A study of Palnadu earthquake sequence in the Cuddapah basin and its tectonic implications. J Earth Syst Sci 130, 52 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-021-01552-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-021-01552-y

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