Kinematics of faults in Bengal Basin: Constraints from GPS measurements

The crustal deformation of Bengal Basin is constrained by motion on faults within the basin and those along the basin boundaries on all sides except the southern margin. Eocene Hinge Zone (EHZ), the most prominent structure within Bengal Basin, running through Kolkata-Ranaghat-Mymensingh, shows pres...

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Main Authors: Mallika Mullick, Dhruba Mukhopadhyay
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. 2020-07-01
Series:Geodesy and Geodynamics
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674984720300203
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author Mallika Mullick
Dhruba Mukhopadhyay
author_facet Mallika Mullick
Dhruba Mukhopadhyay
author_sort Mallika Mullick
collection DOAJ
description The crustal deformation of Bengal Basin is constrained by motion on faults within the basin and those along the basin boundaries on all sides except the southern margin. Eocene Hinge Zone (EHZ), the most prominent structure within Bengal Basin, running through Kolkata-Ranaghat-Mymensingh, shows present day reactivation by hosting 8 earthquakes of magnitude 5.3 to 7.2 on or near its vicinity since 1906. Analysis of GPS derived velocities of stations around the hinge belt reveals a change in crustal kinematics across the belt. The predicted fault model that best fits the observed GPS station velocities on the surface shows that EHZ is a low angle east dipping fault which is locked to a depth of 10 km below the alluvium cover with a maximum slip rate deficit of 1.6 ± 0.7 mm/yr in its northern part at a shallow depth from surface while the deficit in the southern part of EHZ is 1.0 ± 0.6 mm/yr. The Garh-Moyna Khandaghosh fault running almost parallel to the western basin-shield margin does not show significant slip rate deficit. The basin-bounding faults are more active than the faults within and therefore they are greater sources of seismic hazard in the basin. The model results reveal that the Sylhet trough region in the northeastern corner is most vulnerable to future earthquakes as it undergoes deformation due to a maximum slip rate deficit of 9.5 ± 2.4 mm/yr on the shallowly dipping locked megathrust along the eastern margin of the basin plus that of 7.4 ± 2.6 mm/yr on the over thrusting Dapsi thrust and Dauki fault in the north.
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spelling doaj.art-2c0c1bc3889f44bfb7f9d4f70c7ecdc92022-12-21T18:57:09ZengKeAi Communications Co., Ltd.Geodesy and Geodynamics1674-98472020-07-01114242251Kinematics of faults in Bengal Basin: Constraints from GPS measurementsMallika Mullick0Dhruba Mukhopadhyay1Corresponding author.; Raman Centre for Applied and Interdisciplinary Sciences, 16A, Jheel Road, Kolkata, 700075, IndiaRaman Centre for Applied and Interdisciplinary Sciences, 16A, Jheel Road, Kolkata, 700075, IndiaThe crustal deformation of Bengal Basin is constrained by motion on faults within the basin and those along the basin boundaries on all sides except the southern margin. Eocene Hinge Zone (EHZ), the most prominent structure within Bengal Basin, running through Kolkata-Ranaghat-Mymensingh, shows present day reactivation by hosting 8 earthquakes of magnitude 5.3 to 7.2 on or near its vicinity since 1906. Analysis of GPS derived velocities of stations around the hinge belt reveals a change in crustal kinematics across the belt. The predicted fault model that best fits the observed GPS station velocities on the surface shows that EHZ is a low angle east dipping fault which is locked to a depth of 10 km below the alluvium cover with a maximum slip rate deficit of 1.6 ± 0.7 mm/yr in its northern part at a shallow depth from surface while the deficit in the southern part of EHZ is 1.0 ± 0.6 mm/yr. The Garh-Moyna Khandaghosh fault running almost parallel to the western basin-shield margin does not show significant slip rate deficit. The basin-bounding faults are more active than the faults within and therefore they are greater sources of seismic hazard in the basin. The model results reveal that the Sylhet trough region in the northeastern corner is most vulnerable to future earthquakes as it undergoes deformation due to a maximum slip rate deficit of 9.5 ± 2.4 mm/yr on the shallowly dipping locked megathrust along the eastern margin of the basin plus that of 7.4 ± 2.6 mm/yr on the over thrusting Dapsi thrust and Dauki fault in the north.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674984720300203Bengal basinActive faultsGPSSlip rate deficitCoupling fraction
spellingShingle Mallika Mullick
Dhruba Mukhopadhyay
Kinematics of faults in Bengal Basin: Constraints from GPS measurements
Geodesy and Geodynamics
Bengal basin
Active faults
GPS
Slip rate deficit
Coupling fraction
title Kinematics of faults in Bengal Basin: Constraints from GPS measurements
title_full Kinematics of faults in Bengal Basin: Constraints from GPS measurements
title_fullStr Kinematics of faults in Bengal Basin: Constraints from GPS measurements
title_full_unstemmed Kinematics of faults in Bengal Basin: Constraints from GPS measurements
title_short Kinematics of faults in Bengal Basin: Constraints from GPS measurements
title_sort kinematics of faults in bengal basin constraints from gps measurements
topic Bengal basin
Active faults
GPS
Slip rate deficit
Coupling fraction
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674984720300203
work_keys_str_mv AT mallikamullick kinematicsoffaultsinbengalbasinconstraintsfromgpsmeasurements
AT dhrubamukhopadhyay kinematicsoffaultsinbengalbasinconstraintsfromgpsmeasurements