Source rupture process of the 2015 Gorkha, Nepal Mw7.9 earthquake and its tectonic implications
On 25 April, 2015, an Mw7.9 earthquake occurred in Nepal, which caused great economic loss and casualties. However, almost no surface ruptures were observed. Therefore, in order to interpret the phenomenon, we study the rupture process of the earthquake to seek answers. Inversion of teleseismic body...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.
2016-03-01
|
| Series: | Geodesy and Geodynamics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674984716300027 |
| _version_ | 1818459437558398976 |
|---|---|
| author | Lifen Zhang Jinggang Li Wulin Liao Qiuliang Wang |
| author_facet | Lifen Zhang Jinggang Li Wulin Liao Qiuliang Wang |
| author_sort | Lifen Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | On 25 April, 2015, an Mw7.9 earthquake occurred in Nepal, which caused great economic loss and casualties. However, almost no surface ruptures were observed. Therefore, in order to interpret the phenomenon, we study the rupture process of the earthquake to seek answers. Inversion of teleseismic body-wave data is applied to estimate the rupture process of the 2015 Nepal earthquake. To obtain stable solutions, smoothing and non-negative constraints are introduced. 48 teleseismic stations with good coverage are chosen. Finite fault model is established with length and width of 195 km and 150 km, and we set the initial seismic source parameters referring to CMT solutions. Inversion results indicate that the focal mechanism of this earthquake is a thrust fault type, and the strike, dip and rake angle are in accordance with CMT results. The seismic moment is 0.9195 × 1021 Nm (Mw7.9), and source duration is about 70 s. The rupture nucleated near the hypocenter and then propagated along the dip direction to the southeast, and the maximum slip amounts to 5.2 m. Uncertainties on the amount of slip retrieved by different inversion methods still exist, the overall characteristics are inconsistent. The lack of shallow slip during the 2015 Gorkha earthquake implies future seismic hazard and this region should be paid more attention to. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T23:14:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bf71e7f7f1554221abdfa635910f4614 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1674-9847 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T23:14:21Z |
| publishDate | 2016-03-01 |
| publisher | KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geodesy and Geodynamics |
| spelling | doaj.art-bf71e7f7f1554221abdfa635910f46142022-12-21T22:44:08ZengKeAi Communications Co., Ltd.Geodesy and Geodynamics1674-98472016-03-017212413110.1016/j.geog.2016.03.001Source rupture process of the 2015 Gorkha, Nepal Mw7.9 earthquake and its tectonic implicationsLifen Zhang0Jinggang Li1Wulin Liao2Qiuliang Wang3Institute of Geophysics, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing 100081, ChinaInstitute of Geophysics, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing 100081, ChinaKey Laboratory of Earthquake Geodesy, Institute of Seismology, China Earthquake Administration, Wuhan 430071, ChinaKey Laboratory of Earthquake Geodesy, Institute of Seismology, China Earthquake Administration, Wuhan 430071, ChinaOn 25 April, 2015, an Mw7.9 earthquake occurred in Nepal, which caused great economic loss and casualties. However, almost no surface ruptures were observed. Therefore, in order to interpret the phenomenon, we study the rupture process of the earthquake to seek answers. Inversion of teleseismic body-wave data is applied to estimate the rupture process of the 2015 Nepal earthquake. To obtain stable solutions, smoothing and non-negative constraints are introduced. 48 teleseismic stations with good coverage are chosen. Finite fault model is established with length and width of 195 km and 150 km, and we set the initial seismic source parameters referring to CMT solutions. Inversion results indicate that the focal mechanism of this earthquake is a thrust fault type, and the strike, dip and rake angle are in accordance with CMT results. The seismic moment is 0.9195 × 1021 Nm (Mw7.9), and source duration is about 70 s. The rupture nucleated near the hypocenter and then propagated along the dip direction to the southeast, and the maximum slip amounts to 5.2 m. Uncertainties on the amount of slip retrieved by different inversion methods still exist, the overall characteristics are inconsistent. The lack of shallow slip during the 2015 Gorkha earthquake implies future seismic hazard and this region should be paid more attention to.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S16749847163000272015 Gorkha earthquakeRupture processMain frontal thrust faultSeismic hazardTeleseismic P wave |
| spellingShingle | Lifen Zhang Jinggang Li Wulin Liao Qiuliang Wang Source rupture process of the 2015 Gorkha, Nepal Mw7.9 earthquake and its tectonic implications Geodesy and Geodynamics 2015 Gorkha earthquake Rupture process Main frontal thrust fault Seismic hazard Teleseismic P wave |
| title | Source rupture process of the 2015 Gorkha, Nepal Mw7.9 earthquake and its tectonic implications |
| title_full | Source rupture process of the 2015 Gorkha, Nepal Mw7.9 earthquake and its tectonic implications |
| title_fullStr | Source rupture process of the 2015 Gorkha, Nepal Mw7.9 earthquake and its tectonic implications |
| title_full_unstemmed | Source rupture process of the 2015 Gorkha, Nepal Mw7.9 earthquake and its tectonic implications |
| title_short | Source rupture process of the 2015 Gorkha, Nepal Mw7.9 earthquake and its tectonic implications |
| title_sort | source rupture process of the 2015 gorkha nepal mw7 9 earthquake and its tectonic implications |
| topic | 2015 Gorkha earthquake Rupture process Main frontal thrust fault Seismic hazard Teleseismic P wave |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674984716300027 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT lifenzhang sourceruptureprocessofthe2015gorkhanepalmw79earthquakeanditstectonicimplications AT jinggangli sourceruptureprocessofthe2015gorkhanepalmw79earthquakeanditstectonicimplications AT wulinliao sourceruptureprocessofthe2015gorkhanepalmw79earthquakeanditstectonicimplications AT qiuliangwang sourceruptureprocessofthe2015gorkhanepalmw79earthquakeanditstectonicimplications |