Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Seismotectonic significance of the December 1, 2020 Haridwar, India earthquake (M 4.3), a lower crust event near the Himalayan topographic front

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

Abstract

Earthquakes in the Himalayan arc occur due to the interaction of Indian and Eurasian plates, and a great majority of them are of interplate type, occurring on the Main Himalayan Thrust (MHT). Some earthquakes, however, occur south of the Himalayan arc within the subducting Indian plate and majority of these earthquakes occur on the subducting ridges of the Indian plate, the most prominent of which is the Delhi–Haridwar ridge. The December 1, 2020 (ML 4.3, MW 3.8) earthquake is one such event whose source parameters are very well constrained by the local network installed in the region. The earthquake occurred close to the Himalayan Frontal Thrust at a depth of 36 km. The estimated focal mechanism from moment tensor inversion shows a strike-slip mechanism, with P-axis orientation concurrent with Indian plate motion with respect to Eurasia. The stress drop of 9.4 ± 3.7 MPa is consistent with relatively higher stress drop in intraplate earthquakes. Based on the estimated parameters, we qualitatively evaluated whether it occurred (i) on the newly discovered southernmost deformation front, referred as the piedmont fault, which developed in response to the southward propagation of the Himalayan wedge, (ii) due to flexure in the Indian plate caused by long term subduction, (iii) due to strong coupling on the MHT causing flexure in the foreland, and (iv) on the northward extension of the Delhi Haridwar ridge. We propose that it probably occurred on the northward continuation of the Delhi–Haridwar ridge as similar earthquakes occur on this ridge in and around the Delhi region. We also suggest that the 1988 Udaipur (Nepal) earthquake, which had a similar focal depth, location, and focal mechanism, occurred on the Munger–Saharsa ridge's northward continuation. The strong coupling on the MHT in the adjoining Himalayan segments might have helped in the occurrence of both earthquakes.

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

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abercrombie R E and Rice J R 2005 Can observations of earthquake scaling constrain slip weakening?; Geophys. J. Int. 162(2) 406–424.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allmann B P and Shearer P M 2007 Spatial and temporal stress drop variations in small earthquakes near Parkfield, California; J. Geophys. Res.: Solid Earth 112(B4).

  • Altamimi Z, Métivier L and Collilieux X 2012 ITRF2008 plate motion model; J. Geophys. Res.: Solid Earth 117(B7).

  • Antolik M and Dreger D 2001 Source rupture process of the 26 January, 2001 Bhuj, India, earthquake (M 7.6); AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts, Vol. 2001, pp. S52G-03.

  • Baumbach M, Grosser H, Schmidt H, Paulat A, Rietbrock A, Rao C R, Raju P S, Sarkar D and Mohan I 1994 Study of foreshocks and aftershocks of the intraplate Latur earthquake of September 30, 1993, India; Geol. Soc. India Memoir 35 33–63.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bilham R, Gaur V K and Molnar P 2001 Himalayan seismic hazard; Science 293(5534) 1442–1444.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boatwright J, Choy G L and Seekins L C 2002 Regional estimates of radiated seismic energy; Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. 92(4) 1241–1255.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boore D M and Boatwright J 1984 Average body-wave radiation coefficients; Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. 74(5) 1615–1621.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Borah K, Kanna N, Rai S and Prakasam K 2015 Sediment thickness beneath the Indo-Gangetic plain and Siwalik Himalaya inferred from receiver function modelling; J. Asian Earth Sci. 99 41–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bouchon M 1981 A simple method to calculate Green’s functions for elastic layered media; Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. 71(4) 959–971.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brune J N 1970 Tectonic stress and the spectra of seismic shear waves from earthquakes; J. Geophys. Res. 75(26) 4997–5009.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brune J N 1971 Correction to tectonic stress and the spectra of seismic shear waves from earthquakes; J. Geophys. Res. 76(20) 5002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cattin R and Avouac J 2000 Modeling mountain building and the seismic cycle in the Himalaya of Nepal; J. Geophys. Res.: Solid Earth 105(B6) 13,389–13,407.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chapple W M and Forsyth D W 1979 Earthquakes and bending of plates at trenches; J. Geophys. Res.: Solid Earth 84(B12) 6729–6749.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen W-P and Kao H 1996 Seismotectonics of Asia: Some recent progress; In: The Tectonic Evolution of Asia (eds) Yin A and Harrison M, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, pp. 37–62.

    Google Scholar 

  • Christensen D H and Ruff L J 1988 Seismic coupling and outer rise earthquakes; J. Geophys. Res.: Solid Earth 93(B11) 13,421–13,444.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Craig T, Copley A and Jackson J 2014 A reassessment of outer-rise seismicity and its implications for the mechanics of oceanic lithosphere; Geophys. J. Int. 197(1) 63–89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dasgupta S, Mukhopadhyay M and Nandy D 1987 Active transverse features in the central portion of the Himalaya; Tectonophys. 136(3–4) 255–264.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diehl T, Singer J, Hetényi G, Grujic D, Clinton J, Giardini D, Kissling E and 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ekström G, Nettles M and Dziewoński A M 2012 The global CMT project 2004–2010: Centroid-moment tensors for 13,017 earthquakes; Phys. Earth Planet. Int. 200 1–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eshelby J D 1957 The determination of the elastic field of an ellipsoidal inclusion, and related problems; Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond. Ser., Math. Phys. Sci. 241(1226) 376–396.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fitch T J, McCowan D W and Shields M W 1980 Estimation of the seismic moment tensor from teleseismic body wave data with applications to intraplate and mantle earthquakes; J. Geophys. Res.: Solid Earth 85(B7) 3817–3828.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ford S R, Dreger D S and Walter W R 2009 Identifying isotropic events using a regional moment tensor inversion; J. Geophys. Res.: Solid Earth 114(B1).

  • Ghimire S and Kasahara M 2007 Source process of the Ms 6.6, Udayapur earthquake of Nepal–India border and its tectonic implication; J. Asian Earth Sci. 31(2) 128–138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kikuchi M and Kanamori H 1991 Inversion of complex body waves-III; Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. 81(6) 2335–2350.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kwiatek G, Martínez-Garzón P and Bohnhoff M 2016 HybridMT: A MATLAB/shell environment package for seismic moment tensor inversion and refinement; Seismol. Res. Lett. 87(4) 964–976.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lancieri M, Madariaga R and Bonilla F 2012 Spectral scaling of the aftershocks of the Tocopilla 2007 earthquake in northern Chile; Geophys. J. Int. 189(1) 469–480.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lavé J and Avouac J P 2000 Active folding of fluvial terraces across the Siwaliks Hills, Himalayas of central Nepal; J. Geophys. Res.: Solid Earth 105(B3) 5735–5770.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lyon-Caen H and Molnar P 1985 Gravity anomalies, flexure of the Indian plate, and the structure, support and evolution of the Himalaya and Ganga basin; Tectonics 4(6) 513–538.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mandal P and Johnston A 2006 Estimation of source parameters for the aftershocks of the 2001 Mw 7.7 Bhuj earthquake, India; Pure Appl. Geophys. 163(8) 1537–1560.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Masse R P and Needham R E 1989 NEIC – The national earthquake information center; Earthq. Volcanoes (USGS) 21(1) 4–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mittal H, Wu Y M, Chen D Y and Chao W A 2016 Stochastic finite modeling of ground motion for March 5, 2012, Mw 4.6 earthquake and scenario greater magnitude earthquake in the proximity of Delhi; Nat. Hazards 82(2) 1123–1146.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Negishi H, Mori J, Sato H, Singh R and Kumar S 2001 Aftershocks and slip distribution of mainshock, a comprehensive survey of the 26 January 2001 earthquake (Mw 7.7) in the state of Gujarat; Tech. Rep., India. Research Report on Natural Disasters.

  • Ottemöller L, Voss P and Havskov J 2013 SEISAN: The earthquake analysis software for Windows, SOLARIS, LINUX and MACKINTOSH Version 9.3, Manual.

  • Pandey M, Tandukar R, Avouac J, Lave J and Massot J 1995 Interseismic strain accumulation on the Himalayan crustal ramp (Nepal); Geophys. Res. Lett. 22(7) 751–754.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rao M R 1973 The subsurface geology of the Indo-Gangetic plains; J. Geol. Soc. India 14(3) 217–242.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sastri V V, Bhandari L L, Raju A T R and Datta A K 1971 Tectonic framework and subsurface stratigraphy of the Ganga basin; Geol. Soc. India 12(3) 222–233.

    Google Scholar 

  • Satriano C 2020 SourceSpec–Earthquake source parameters from S‐wave displacement spectra, Version 0.9, Zenodo, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3765327.

  • Scholz C 2002 The mechanics of earthquakes and faulting; Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 471p.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Sharma M and Wason H 1994 Occurrence of low stress drop earthquakes in the Garhwal Himalaya region; Phys. Earth Planet. Int. 85(3–4) 265–272.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shukla A, Prakash R, Singh R, Mishra P and Bhatnagar A 2007 Seismotectonic implications of Delhi region through fault plane solutions of some recent earthquakes; Curr. Sci. 93(12) 1848–1853.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singh S, Dattatrayam R, Shapiro N, Mandal P, Pacheco J and Midha R 1999 Crustal and upper mantle structure of peninsular India and source parameters of the 21 May 1997, Jabalpur earthquake (Mw 5.8): Results from a new regional broadband network; Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. 89(6) 1631–1641.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singh S, Kumar A, Suresh G, Ordaz M, Pacheco J, Sharma M, Bansal B, Dattatrayam R and Reinoso E 2010 Delhi earthquake of 25 November 2007 (Mw 4.1): Implications for seismic hazard; Curr. Sci. 99(7) 939–947.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sipkin S A and Needham R E 1993 Moment-tensor solutions estimated using optimal filter theory: Global seismicity, 1991; Phys. Earth Planet. Int. 75(4) 199–204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sivaram K, Kumar D, Teotia S, Rai S and Prakasam K 2013 Source parameters and scaling relations for small earthquakes in Kumaon Himalaya, India; J. Seismol. 17(2) 579–592.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sokos E N and Zahradnik J 2008 ISOLA: A Fortran code and a Matlab GUI to perform multiple-point source inversion of seismic data; Comput. Geosci. 34(8) 967–977.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stevens V and Avouac J 2015 Interseismic coupling on the main Himalayan thrust; Geophys. Res. Lett. 42(14) 5828–5837.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Valdiya K 1976 Himalayan transverse faults and folds and their parallelism with subsurface structures of north Indian plains; Tectonophys. 32(3–4) 353–386.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vavryčuk V and Kim S G 2014 Nonisotropic radiation of the 2013 North Korean nuclear explosion; Geophys. Res. Lett. 41(20) 7048–7056.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Venkataraman A and Kanamori H 2004 Observational constraints on the fracture energy of subduction zone earthquakes; J. Geophys. Res.: Solid Earth 109(B5).

  • Wiejacz P 1992 Badanie mechanizmów wstrząsów górniczych przy wykorzystaniu tensora momentu sejsmicznego; Institute of Geophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences.

  • Wyss M and Brune J N 1968 Seismic moment, stress, and source dimensions for earthquakes in the California-Nevada region; Geophys. Res. Lett. 73(14) 4681–4694.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yeats R S and Thakur V 2008 Active faulting south of the Himalayan front: Establishing a new plate boundary; Tectonophys. 453(1–4) 63–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We are thankful to the Director, CSIR-NGRI, Hyderabad, for his support and permission to publish this work. Maps were plotted using Generic Mapping Tools (Wessel and Smith 1998). NCS station phase data were used from ISC website. We thank the Editor and anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

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

    T C Sunilkumar, Vineet K Gahalaut, D Srinagesh & B Naresh

  2. Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, 600 036, India

    D Srinagesh

Authors
  1. T C Sunilkumar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Vineet K Gahalaut
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. D Srinagesh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. B Naresh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

T C Sunilkumar: Conception, estimation of focal mechanism and source parameters; V K Gahalaut: Conception, manuscript preparation and supervision; Naresh Bandari: Data collection and estimation of earthquake parameters; D Srinagesh: Took initiative in deploying the network. All the authors contributed equally in writing the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to T C Sunilkumar.

Additional information

Communicated by Anand Joshi

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Sunilkumar, T.C., Gahalaut, V.K., Srinagesh, D. et al. Seismotectonic significance of the December 1, 2020 Haridwar, India earthquake (M 4.3), a lower crust event near the Himalayan topographic front. J Earth Syst Sci 132, 46 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-023-02072-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-023-02072-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation