The Influence of Surface Topography on the Weak Ground Shaking in Kathmandu Valley during the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake, Nepal
It remains elusive why there was only weak and limited ground shaking in Kathmandu valley during the 25 April 2015 Mw 7.8 Gorkha, Nepal, earthquake. Our spectral element numerical simulations show that, during this earthquake, surface topography restricted the propagation of seismic energy into the...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2020-01-01
|
| Series: | Sensors |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/20/3/678 |
| _version_ | 1798041313200832512 |
|---|---|
| author | Mark van der Meijde Md Ashrafuzzaman Norman Kerle Saad Khan Harald van der Werff |
| author_facet | Mark van der Meijde Md Ashrafuzzaman Norman Kerle Saad Khan Harald van der Werff |
| author_sort | Mark van der Meijde |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | It remains elusive why there was only weak and limited ground shaking in Kathmandu valley during the 25 April 2015 Mw 7.8 Gorkha, Nepal, earthquake. Our spectral element numerical simulations show that, during this earthquake, surface topography restricted the propagation of seismic energy into the valley. The mountains diverted the incoming seismic wave mostly to the eastern and western margins of the valley. As a result, we find de-amplification of peak ground displacement in most of the valley interior. Modeling of alternative earthquake scenarios of the same magnitude occurring at different locations shows that these will affect the Kathmandu valley much more strongly, up to 2−3 times more, than the 2015 Gorkha earthquake did. This indicates that surface topography contributed to the reduced seismic shaking for this specific earthquake and lessened the earthquake impact within the valley. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T22:19:49Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-110fb4e3575949a399812f48ec43da0a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T22:19:49Z |
| publishDate | 2020-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj.art-110fb4e3575949a399812f48ec43da0a2022-12-22T04:00:10ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202020-01-0120367810.3390/s20030678s20030678The Influence of Surface Topography on the Weak Ground Shaking in Kathmandu Valley during the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake, NepalMark van der Meijde0Md Ashrafuzzaman1Norman Kerle2Saad Khan3Harald van der Werff4Department of Earth Systems Analysis, Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), University of Twente, 7500 AE Enschede, The NetherlandsDepartment of Earth Systems Analysis, Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), University of Twente, 7500 AE Enschede, The NetherlandsDepartment of Earth Systems Analysis, Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), University of Twente, 7500 AE Enschede, The NetherlandsDepartment of Earth Systems Analysis, Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), University of Twente, 7500 AE Enschede, The NetherlandsDepartment of Earth Systems Analysis, Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), University of Twente, 7500 AE Enschede, The NetherlandsIt remains elusive why there was only weak and limited ground shaking in Kathmandu valley during the 25 April 2015 Mw 7.8 Gorkha, Nepal, earthquake. Our spectral element numerical simulations show that, during this earthquake, surface topography restricted the propagation of seismic energy into the valley. The mountains diverted the incoming seismic wave mostly to the eastern and western margins of the valley. As a result, we find de-amplification of peak ground displacement in most of the valley interior. Modeling of alternative earthquake scenarios of the same magnitude occurring at different locations shows that these will affect the Kathmandu valley much more strongly, up to 2−3 times more, than the 2015 Gorkha earthquake did. This indicates that surface topography contributed to the reduced seismic shaking for this specific earthquake and lessened the earthquake impact within the valley.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/20/3/678earthquakenepalamplificationmodellingdigital elevation model |
| spellingShingle | Mark van der Meijde Md Ashrafuzzaman Norman Kerle Saad Khan Harald van der Werff The Influence of Surface Topography on the Weak Ground Shaking in Kathmandu Valley during the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake, Nepal Sensors earthquake nepal amplification modelling digital elevation model |
| title | The Influence of Surface Topography on the Weak Ground Shaking in Kathmandu Valley during the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake, Nepal |
| title_full | The Influence of Surface Topography on the Weak Ground Shaking in Kathmandu Valley during the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake, Nepal |
| title_fullStr | The Influence of Surface Topography on the Weak Ground Shaking in Kathmandu Valley during the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake, Nepal |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Influence of Surface Topography on the Weak Ground Shaking in Kathmandu Valley during the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake, Nepal |
| title_short | The Influence of Surface Topography on the Weak Ground Shaking in Kathmandu Valley during the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake, Nepal |
| title_sort | influence of surface topography on the weak ground shaking in kathmandu valley during the 2015 gorkha earthquake nepal |
| topic | earthquake nepal amplification modelling digital elevation model |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/20/3/678 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT markvandermeijde theinfluenceofsurfacetopographyontheweakgroundshakinginkathmanduvalleyduringthe2015gorkhaearthquakenepal AT mdashrafuzzaman theinfluenceofsurfacetopographyontheweakgroundshakinginkathmanduvalleyduringthe2015gorkhaearthquakenepal AT normankerle theinfluenceofsurfacetopographyontheweakgroundshakinginkathmanduvalleyduringthe2015gorkhaearthquakenepal AT saadkhan theinfluenceofsurfacetopographyontheweakgroundshakinginkathmanduvalleyduringthe2015gorkhaearthquakenepal AT haraldvanderwerff theinfluenceofsurfacetopographyontheweakgroundshakinginkathmanduvalleyduringthe2015gorkhaearthquakenepal AT markvandermeijde influenceofsurfacetopographyontheweakgroundshakinginkathmanduvalleyduringthe2015gorkhaearthquakenepal AT mdashrafuzzaman influenceofsurfacetopographyontheweakgroundshakinginkathmanduvalleyduringthe2015gorkhaearthquakenepal AT normankerle influenceofsurfacetopographyontheweakgroundshakinginkathmanduvalleyduringthe2015gorkhaearthquakenepal AT saadkhan influenceofsurfacetopographyontheweakgroundshakinginkathmanduvalleyduringthe2015gorkhaearthquakenepal AT haraldvanderwerff influenceofsurfacetopographyontheweakgroundshakinginkathmanduvalleyduringthe2015gorkhaearthquakenepal |