Himalayan earthquakes: a review of historical seismicity and early 21st century slip potential

Bilham, Roger

doi:10.1144/sp483.16

Cited by 249 publications

(224 citation statements)

References 166 publications

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“…Large historical earthquakes (M > 7.5) have been reported since medieval times along the Himalayan front, in central and eastern Nepal (e.g., Bollinger et al, 2014Bollinger et al, , 2016Bilham , 2019;Molnar & Pandey, 1989;Pant, 2002; Table 1 and Figure 1). The latest of these earthquakes is the blind Mw 7.8 Gorkha earthquake that affected Central Nepal on 25 April 2015, partially rupturing a locked segment of the Main Himalayan Thrust fault, the plate boundary between India and the Himalayan Range (Avouac et al, 2015;Grandin et al, 2015).…”

Section: Historical Chronicles Of Large Earthquakes In Central and Eamentioning

confidence: 99%

Post Earthquake Aggradation Processes to Hide Surface Ruptures in Thrust Systems: The M8.3, 1934, Bihar‐Nepal Earthquake Ruptures at Charnath Khola (Eastern Nepal)

Rizza

Bollinger

Sapkota³

et al. 2019

JGR Solid Earth

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The Charnath Khola is a large river crossing the Himalayan thrust system in the region devastated by the great M8.3 1934 Bihar‐Nepal earthquake. Fluvial terraces are abandoned along the river and at the base of a ~20‐m high cumulative thrust escarpment. A trench across the fault scarp exposed Siwalik mudstone/siltstone overthrusting Quaternary units and three colluvial wedges interfingered with fluvial sands. The 85 accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon dates, from detrital charcoals sampled in the trench, a river cut and river terraces, constrain the timing of the sedimentary processes following the last two major earthquakes, in 1934 and 1255 CE. Although several samples straddle the main earthquake horizon, associating it with the 1934 earthquake, based solely on radiocarbon ages, remains challenging. The 49 detrital charcoal ages found in the pre‐earthquake and postearthquake units fall between 65 and 225 BP, a period with a flat calibration curve. Many of these radiocarbon ages are suspected to include a part due to inbuilt time (i.e., age of the wood at the time of burning), transport time, and reworking processes, which are difficult to resolve. Considering these ages at their face value could lead to dates older than the actual earthquake dates. We suggest that a part of this chronological bias is also related to a local postseismic aggradation pulse of 4 to 5 m of sediments, which is documented in the trench and terraces. This fluvial sequence, hiding the most recent surface rupture, is likely related to landslide‐sediment deposition triggered by the 1934 Bihar‐Nepal earthquake.

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Section: Historical Chronicles Of Large Earthquakes In Central and Eamentioning

confidence: 99%

Post Earthquake Aggradation Processes to Hide Surface Ruptures in Thrust Systems: The M8.3, 1934, Bihar‐Nepal Earthquake Ruptures at Charnath Khola (Eastern Nepal)

Rizza

Bollinger

Sapkota³

et al. 2019

JGR Solid Earth

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“…2007). The Himalayan collision tectonics resulted in complex deformation of the lithosphere which continues even today and controls seismic activity in the region (Bilham, 2019). The study region mainly lies between the rupture zones of two major earthquakes, i.e., 2005 Muzaffarabad earthquake of Mw 7.6 and 1905 Kangra earthquake of Mw 7.8.…”

Section: Geology and Tectonic Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Apart from these two moderate earthquakes, this region has witnessed more than 20 moderate events of M >5 since 1950 (Dasgupta et al, 2000). Historical data and the ongoing seismicity suggest that this region is seismically and tectonically very active (Gavillot, 2014;Pandey et al, 2016;Bilham, 2019). Small to moderate size earthquakes are occurring between the Panjal Thrust (PT) and southwest of Kishtwar Window (KW) (Pandey et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spectral Analysis and Waveform Modelling of Jangalwar Earthquake (Mw 4.1), Chenab Valley, Jammu

Pandey¹,

Puri²,

Bhat³

et al. 2020

JSR

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An earthquake of M w 4.1 occurred in the Jangalwar area of Chenab valley of Jammu and Kashmir on 29 th May, 2017. This earthquake occurred within the source zone of the Jangalwar earthquake of 2013 (M w 5.7) which was followed by aftershocks for about two months. The current paper presents results on spectral analysis and waveform modelling of this earthquake. Its epicenter was located at 33.110 o N, 75.896 o E between the Panjal Thrust and Kishtwar Window. From the travel time and waveform inversion, focal depth of the event was located at 11 km. The estimated seismic moment was calculated at 15.4 dyne-cm, source radius of 0.585 km, moment magnitude 4.1, corner frequency of 2.39 Hz and stress drop of 50.6 bars. The focal plane solution of the event indicates thrust movement with the fault plane strike of 323 o , dip 39 o and rake 100 o . The source fault of the event appears synthetic to NW-SE striking Panjal Thrust. This current activity may be related to reactivation of ramp emanating from the decollement or emergence of a new splay from the Panjal Thrust.

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“…The Himalaya plate boundary is characterized by episodic large earthquakes followed by periods of strain accumulation (Khattri, 1987;Bilham, 2019). Mapping and defining how quickly strain is accumulating across the plate boundary zone is critical to improving seismic hazard assessment and, together with other types of geomorphic mapping, will improve characterization of active fault structures (Elliott et al, 2016).…”

Section: Earthquakesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The State of Remote Sensing Capabilities of Cascading Hazards Over High Mountain Asia

et al. 2019

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Cascading hazard processes refer to a primary trigger such as heavy rainfall, seismic activity, or snow melt, followed by a chain or web of consequences that can cause subsequent hazards influenced by a complex array of preconditions and vulnerabilities. These interact in multiple ways and can have tremendous impacts on populations proximate to or downstream of these initial triggers. High Mountain Asia (HMA) is extremely vulnerable to cascading hazard processes given the tectonic, geomorphologic, and climatic setting of the region, particularly as it relates to glacial lakes. Given the limitations of in situ surveys in steep and often inaccessible terrain, remote sensing data are a valuable resource for better understanding and quantifying these processes. The present work provides a survey of cascading hazard processes impacting HMA and how these can be characterized using remote sensing sources. We discuss how remote sensing products can be used to address these process chains, citing several examples of cascading hazard scenarios across HMA. This work also provides a perspective on the current gaps and challenges, community needs, and view forward toward improved characterization of evolving hazards and risk across HMA.

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Himalayan earthquakes: a review of historical seismicity and early 21st century slip potential

Cited by 249 publications

References 166 publications

Post Earthquake Aggradation Processes to Hide Surface Ruptures in Thrust Systems: The M8.3, 1934, Bihar‐Nepal Earthquake Ruptures at Charnath Khola (Eastern Nepal)

Post Earthquake Aggradation Processes to Hide Surface Ruptures in Thrust Systems: The M8.3, 1934, Bihar‐Nepal Earthquake Ruptures at Charnath Khola (Eastern Nepal)

Spectral Analysis and Waveform Modelling of Jangalwar Earthquake (Mw 4.1), Chenab Valley, Jammu

The State of Remote Sensing Capabilities of Cascading Hazards Over High Mountain Asia

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