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Large scale mass movements triggered by the Kashmir earthquake 2005, Pakistan

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Abstract

The SPOT image analysis in Muzaffarabad Azad Kashmir, northwest Himalayas, Pakistan reveals that the Kashmir earthquake 2005 triggered a number of coseismic mass movements along the hanging wall block of the Muzaffarabad Fault. The Neelidandi and Langarpura rock falls have been identified as two major reactivated mass movements with an estimated volume of 3.1 × 106 m3 and 5.76 × 106 m3, respectively. The Neelidandi and Langarpura mass movements were initiated during earthquake in the direction of northwest-southeast extension and northeast-southwest directed thrusting, respectively. The Neelidandi rock fall occurred in sheared cherty dolomites and limestones of the Cambrian Muzaffarabad Formation, whereas the Langarpura rock fall occurred in alternating clays, shales, claystones, siltstones and sandstones of the Miocene Murree Formation. These rock units along the fault are highly fractured and jointed. The geotechnical maps and geological longitudinal profiles show the relationship between the geometrical characteristics and mechanism of these mass movements. Their characteristics were analyzed according to the role of topographic, seismic, geological and tectonic factors. The steep topography, sheared rocks, lithology, coseismic uplift and strong ground shaking of the hanging wall block along Muzaffarabad Fault facilitated the gravity collapse of these mass movements.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. GeoZentrum Nordbayern, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, 91054, Germany

    Muhammad Basharat, Joachim Rohn & Markus Schleier

  2. Institute of Geology, University of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Muzaffarabad, 13100, Pakistan

    Muhammad Basharat, Mirza Shahid Baig & Muhammad Rustam Khan

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  1. Muhammad Basharat
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  2. Joachim Rohn
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  3. Mirza Shahid Baig
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  4. Muhammad Rustam Khan
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  5. Markus Schleier
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Correspondence to Muhammad Basharat.

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Basharat, M., Rohn, J., Baig, M.S. et al. Large scale mass movements triggered by the Kashmir earthquake 2005, Pakistan. J. Mt. Sci. 11, 19–30 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-012-2629-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-012-2629-6

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