Evidence for non-self-similarity in the M w 7.7 2001 Bhuj earthquake sequence

Natural Hazards - Scaled energy, apparent stress, seismic moments, stress drops and corner frequencies are measured through the Levenberg–Marquardt nonlinear inversion modeling of S-wave...     

Triggered/migrated seismicity due to the 2001 M w7.7 Bhuj earthquake, Western India

Paper describes triggered seismicity to 200?km distance and for a decade due to the 2001 M _w7.7 Bhuj earthquake. The Kachchh region is seismically one of the most active intraplate regions of the World due to the occurrence of two large earthquakes 1819 (M _w7.8) and 2001 (M _w7.7). Though, it has high hazard but was known to have low seismicity in view of the occurrence of fewer smaller shocks. However, the status seems to have changed after 2001. Besides the strong aftershock activity for over a decade, seismicity has spread to nearby faults in Kachchh peninsula and at several places southward for 200?km distance in Saurashtra peninsula. Beyond the rupture zone of the 2001 Bhuj earthquake, more than 40 mainshocks of M _w?~?3?C5 have occurred at 20 different locations, which is unusual. The increased seismicity is inferred to be caused by stress perturbation due to the 2001 Bhuj earthquake by viscoelastic process. In Saurashtra, over and above the viscoelastic stress increase, the transient stress increase by water table rise in monsoons seems to be affecting the timing of mainshocks and associated sequences of earthquakes.     

Statistical parameters of Bhuj earthquake sequence of January 26th, 2001

An intraplate earthquake of magnitude (M _c) 6.9 (Anon 2001a) struck Bhuj and the adjoining region of Kachchh in Gujarat on January 26th, 2001 at about 0316 hrs (GMT) and was followed by a number of aftershocks. The epicentre of this earthquake was located at 23.4‡N and 70.28‡E close to the Kachchh mainland fault. The intensity observed around the epicenter was X on the MSK scale. A study of 531 aftershocks, in the magnitude range of 3.0–5.7, recorded at Vadodara Seismological Observatory till March 31st, 2001 has been carried out and various statistical parameters calculated. The total energy released during the study period is calculated to be 8.2 × 10¹⁴ joule. Sudden occurrence of the main shock without any foreshock in the same tectonic system is a unique feature of this sequence. Theb- value (0.86), value of M₀-M₁ (1.2), high M₁/M₀ (0.89) and high value of the decay constanth (0.91), all support the tectonic origin of the present study.     

Poroelastic relaxation and aftershocks of the 2001 Bhuj earthquake, India

We analyse aftershocks of the 26 January 2001 Bhuj earthquake, India, that were recorded for 10 weeks following the mainshock. We calculate undrained or instantaneous pore pressure and change in Coulomb stress due to the earthquake and their poroelastic relaxation in the following 10 weeks period. Almost all aftershocks occurred in the region of coseismic dilatation. In the subsequent period, pore pressure increased through relaxation in the dilatation region which further modified coseismic Coulomb stress. Maximum increase in pore pressure is estimated to be about 0.7 MPa in 60 days time following the mainshock. Correlation between the zones of increased pore pressure and postseismic Coulomb stress with that of aftershocks, suggests a definite role of fluid diffusion in their delayed triggering.     

Artificial neural network and liquefaction susceptibility assessment: a case study using the 2001 Bhuj earthquake data,Gujarat, India

This study pertains to prediction of liquefaction susceptibility of unconsolidated sediments using artificial neural network (ANN) as a prediction model. The backpropagation neural network was trained, tested, and validated with 23 datasets comprising parameters such as cyclic resistance ratio (CRR), cyclic stress ratio (CSR), liquefaction severity index (LSI), and liquefaction sensitivity index (LSeI). The network was also trained to predict the CRR values from LSI, LSeI, and CSR values. The predicted results were comparable with the field data on CRR and liquefaction severity. Thus, this study indicates the potentiality of the ANN technique in mapping the liquefaction susceptibility of the area.     

Crustal and lithospheric thinning beneath the seismogenic Kachchh rift zone,Gujarat (India): Its implications toward the generation of the 2001 Bhuj earthquake sequence

A high-resolution passive seismic experiment in the Kachchh rift zone of the western India has produced an excellent dataset of several thousands teleseismic events. From this network, 500 good teleseismic events recorded at 14 mobile broadband sites are used to estimate receiver functions (for the 30–310° back-azimuth ranges), which show a positive phase at 4.5–6.1 s delay time and a strong negative phase at 8.0–11.0 s. These phases have been modeled by a velocity increase at Moho (i.e. 34–43 km) and a velocity decrease at 62–92 km depth. The estimation of crustal and lithospheric thicknesses using the inversion of stacked radial receiver functions led to the delineation of a marked thinning of 3–7 km in crustal thickness and 6–14 km in lithospheric thickness beneath the central rift zone relative to the surrounding un-rifted parts of the Kachchh rift zone. On an average, the Kachchh region is characterized by a thin lithosphere of 75.9 ± 5.9 km. The marked velocity decrease associated with the lithosphere–asthenoshere boundary (LAB), observed over an area of 120 km × 80 km, and the isotropic study of xenoliths from Kachchh provides evidence for local asthenospheric updoming with pockets of partial melts of CO₂ rich lherzolite beneath the Kachchh seismic zone that might have caused by rifting episode (at 88 Ma) and the associated Deccan thermal-plume interaction (at 65 Ma) episodes. Thus, the coincidence of the area of the major aftershock activity and the Moho as well as asthenospheric upwarping beneath the central Kachchh rift zone suggests that these pockets of CO₂-rich lherzolite partial melts could perhaps provide a high input of volatiles containing CO₂ into the lower crust, which might contribute significantly in the seismo-genesis of continued aftershock activity in the region. It is also inferred that large stresses in the denser and stronger lower crust (at 14–34 km depths) induced by ongoing Banni upliftment, crustal intrusive, marked lateral variation in crustal thickness and related sub-crustal thermal anomaly play a key role in nucleating the lower crustal earthquakes beneath the Kachchh seismic zone.     

Geoseismological investigation of the January 26, 2001 Bhuj earthquake in western peninsular India

Of the intraplate seismic events, the January 26, 2001 Bhuj earthquake (Mw 7.7) would be remembered as one of the deadliest, in which 13,805 human lives were lost, 0.177 million injured and a total of 1,205,198 houses were fully or partly damaged in 16 districts of Gujarat state with an estimated overall loss of Rs. 284, 23 million. The brunt of the calamity was borne by five districts, namely Kachchh, Ahmadabad, Rajkot, Jamnagar and Surendranagar, where 99?% of the total casualties and damage occurred. In the neighbouring parts of Sindhh Province of Pakistan, 40 human casualties were reported, and some buildings cracked in the Karachi city as well. In the Kachchh district of Gujarat state, the telecommunication links and power supply were totally disrupted, road and rail links partially impaired and water supply snapped at many places. The Bhuj airbase had to be closed for some time due to damage to the infrastructure. The macroseismic survey carried out by the Geological Survey of India in an area as large as 1.2 million?sq?km indicated an epicentral intensity as high as X on the MSK scale in an area of 780?sq?km in the central part of Kachchh rift basin. Apart from damages to civil structures, the January 26 earthquake induced conspicuous terrain deformation in the form of liquefaction features, structural ground deformation and low-order slope failures that were mainly prevalent within the higher intensity isoseists. Liquefaction occurred in an area of about 50,000?sq?km. The extensive plains of Rann of Kachchh, the marshy tracts of the Little Rann and the shallow groundwater table zones of Banni Land provided the most conducive geotechnical environments for the development of seismites. The liquefaction activity was profuse in seismic intensity zones X and IX, widespread in intensity VIII, subdued in intensity VII and stray in intensity VI. The common forms of liquefaction were sand blows/boils, ground fissures, craters, lateral spreading and slumping. Ground deformation of tectonic origin was witnessed in the epicentral tract. Such features, though much less subdued in comparison with the 1819 large earthquake (Mw 7.8) in region, occurred along the Kachchh Mainland fault (KMF) and along a transverse lineament, referred to as Manfara?CKharoi fault. The manifestations were in the form of fractures, displacement of strata, linear subsidence, upheaval, formation of micro-basins/micro-ridges, ripping off of rock surface, and at places violent forms of liquefaction. The localities where coseismic deformations were observed include Bodhormora, Sikra, Vondh, Chobari, Manfara and Kharoi. The 2001 event has demonstrated the role of local geology in influencing the ground motion characteristics and, therefore, the hazard estimation.     

Damage due to the Mw 7.7 Kutch, India earthquake of 2001

This paper presents a study of the damage due to the M_w 7.6–7.7 intraplate Kutch earthquake of 26 January 2001. It was a powerful earthquake with a high stress drop of about 20 MPa. Aftershocks (up to M 4) have continued for 2.5 years. The distribution of early aftershocks indicates a rupture plane of 20–25 km radius at depths of 10–45 km along an E–W-trending and south-dipping hidden fault situated approximately 25 km north of the Kutch Mainland Fault. The moment tensor solution determined from regional broadband data indicates reverse motion along a south-dipping (by 47°) fault. The earthquake is the largest event in India in the last 50 years and the most destructive in the recorded history in terms of socioeconomic losses with 13,819 deaths (including 14 in Pakistan), collapse/severe damage of over a million houses and US$10 billion economic loss. Surface faulting was not observed. However, intense land deformations have been observed in a 40×20-km meizoseismal area. These include lateral spreading, ground uplifts (about a meter), ground slumping and deep cracks. Liquefaction with ejection of sand and copious water was widespread in the Banni grassland, Rann areas (salt plains), along rivers and also in the coastal areas up to 200 km distance from the epicenter in areas of intensity VII to X+. Stray incidences of liquefaction have occurred up to distances of at least 300 km. For the first time in India, multistory buildings have been destroyed/damaged by an earthquake. The maximum acceleration is inferred to be 700 cm/s² and intensities are 1–3 units higher in soil-covered areas than expected from the decay rate of acceleration for hard rock.     

Post-seismic deformation associated with the 2001 Bhuj earthquake

We report the results of GPS measurements of post-seismic deformation due to the 2001 Bhuj earthquake in the Kachchh region, western India. The estimated horizontal velocity vectors in ITRF05 are in the range of 48?C49?mm/year in N46?C50°E. The observed velocity at the Gandhinagar permanent site, a far off site from the earthquake source region and probably unaffected by the post-seismic deformation, is 49?±?1?mm/year in N47°E, which is consistent with the predicted motion of Indian plate at Gandhinagar. At other sites in the source region, transient post-seismic deformation is found to be low; it attenuated rapidly within 3?C4?years of the earthquake and is much low now. Our results support the idea that mantle rheology is weak in the region.     

Relocation of aftershocks, focal mechanisms and stress inversion: Implications toward the seismo-tectonics of the causative fault zone of Mw7.6 2001 Bhuj earthquake (India)

The HYPODD relocation of 1172 aftershocks, recorded on 8–17 three-component digital seismographs, delineate a distinct south dipping E–W trending aftershock zone extending up to 35 km depth, which involves a crustal volume of 40 km × 60 km × 35 km. The relocated focal depths delineate the presence of three fault segments and variation in the brittle–ductile transition depths amongst the individual faults as the earthquake foci in the both western and eastern ends are confined up to 28 km depth whilst in the central aftershock zone they are limited up to 35 km depth. The FPFIT focal mechanism solutions of 444 aftershocks (using 8–12 first motions) suggest that the focal mechanisms ranged between pure reverse and pure strike slip except some pure dip slip solutions. Stress inversion performed using the P and T axes of the selected focal mechanisms reveals an N181°E oriented maximum principal stress with a very shallow dip (= 14°). The stress inversions of different depth bins of the P and T axes of selected aftershocks suggest a heterogeneous stress regime at 0–30 km depth range with a dominant consistent N–S orientation of the P-axes over the aftershock zone, which could be attributed to the existence of varied nature and orientation of fractures and faults as revealed by the relocated aftershocks.     

Aftershock activity of Bhuj earthquake of january 26th, 2001

Following a large-sized Bhuj earthquake (M _s = 7.6) of January 26th, 2001, a small aperture 4-station temporary local network was deployed, in the epicentral area, for a period of about three weeks and resulted in the recording of more than 1800 aftershocks (-0.07 ≤M _L <5.0). Preliminary locations of epicenters of 297 aftershocks (2.0 ≤M _L <5.0) have brought out a dense cluster of aftershock activity, the center of which falls 20 km NW of Bhachau. Epicentral locations of after-shocks encompass a surface area of about 50 × 40 km² that seems to indicate the surface projection of the rupture area associated with the earthquake. The distribution of aftershock activity above magnitude 3, shows that aftershocks are nonuniformly distributed and are aligned in the north, northwest and northeast directions. The epicenter of the mainshock falls on the southern edge of the delineated zone of aftershock activity and the maximum clustering of activity occurs in close proximity of the mainshock. Well-constrained focal depths of 122 aftershocks show that 89% of the aftershocks occurred at depths ranging between 6 and 25 km and only 7% and 4% aftershocks occur at depths less than 5 and more than 25 km respectively. The Gutenberg-Richter (GR) relationship, logN = 4.52 - 0.89M_L, is fitted to the aftershock data (1.0<-M _L<5.0) and theb-value of 0.89 has been estimated for the aftershock activity.     

Geotechnical aspects and ground response studies in Bhuj earthquake, India

The extent of damage and affected areas in Bhuj earthquake (26th January 2001) has provided a unique opportunity to evaluate a wide range of geotechnical issues. A large area in the Rann of Kutch experienced massive liquefaction resulting in ground subsidence and lateral flow. A large number of dams in the Kutch district suffered moderate to severe damages. Many buildings were damaged and collapsed in the city of Ahmedabad situated on the bank of the Sabarmati River. In this paper, the ground response studies at a site in Ahmedabad City along with observations of geotechnical aspects such as ground cracking, sand volcanoes and liquefaction of soils associated with the Bhuj earthquake are discussed. The ground response studies indicate that the varying degree of damage to multistorey buildings in Ahmedabad in the close proximity of Sabarmati river area was essentially due to the collapse and undesirable settlement of partly saturated silty sand deposits. Large settlements are attributed to amplification of the ground and the near resonance condition. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Estimation of static stress changes after the 2001 Bhuj earthquake: Implications towards the northward spatial migration of the seismic activity in Kachchh,Gujarat

Spatial-temporal patterns of aftershocks of the 2001 Mw7.7 Bhuj earthquake during 2001–2008 reveal a northward spatial migration of seismic activity in the Kachchh seismic zone, which could be related with the loading stresses caused by the continued occurrences of aftershocks on the north Wagad fault (NWF), the causative fault of the 2001-mainshock. Aiming at explaining the observed northward migration of activity, we modelled the Coulomb failure stress change (DCFS) produced by the 2001-mainshock, the 2006 Mw5.6 Gedi fault (GF) and the 2007 Mw4.5 Allah bund fault (ABF) events on optimally oriented plane. A strong correlation between occurrences of earthquakes and regions of increased DCFS is obtained on the associated three faults i.e. NWF, ABF and GF. Predicted DCFS on the GF increased by 0.9 MPa at 3 km depth, where the 7^th March 2006 Mw5.6 event occurred, whereas predicted DCFS on the ABF increased by 0.07 MPa at 30 km depth, where the 15^th December 2007 Mw4.5 event occurred. Focal mechanism solutions of three events on the ABF have been estimated using the iterative inversion of broadband data from 5–10 stations, which are also constrained by the first P-motion data from 8–12 stations. These focal mechanism solutions for the ABF events reveal a dominant reverse movement with a strike-slip component along a preferred northwest or northeast dipping plane (∼50–70°). Focal mechanisms of the events on all the three fault zones reveal an N-S oriented P- axis or maximum principal stress in the region, which agrees with the prevailing N-S compression over the Indian plate. It is apparent that the northward migration of the static stress changes from the NWF, resulting from the occurrence 2001 Bhuj mainshock, might have caused the occurrence of the events on the GF and ABF during 2006–08.     

Source parameters and scaling relations for small earthquakes in the Kachchh region of Gujarat,India

The scaling relationships for stress drop and corner frequency with respect to magnitude have been worked out using 159 accelerograms from 34 small earthquakes (M _w 3.3–4.9) in the Kachchh region of Gujarat. The 318 spectra of P and S waves have been analyzed for this purpose. The average ratio of P- to S-wave corner frequency is found to be 1.19 suggestive of higher corner frequency for P wave as compared to that for S wave. The seismic moments estimated from P waves, M ₀(P), range from 1.98 × 10¹⁴ N m to 1.60 × 10¹⁶ N m and those from S waves, M ₀(S), range from 1.02 × 10¹⁴ N m to 3.4 × 10¹⁶ N m with an average ratio, M ₀(P)/M ₀(S), of 1.11. The total seismic energy varies from 1.83 × 10¹⁰ J to 2.84 × 10¹³ J. The estimated stress drop values do not depend on earthquake size significantly and lie in the range 30–120 bars for most of the events. A linear regression analysis between the estimated seismic moment (M ₀) and corner frequency (f _c) gives the scaling relation M ₀ f _c ³  = 7.6 × 10¹⁶ N m/s³. The proposed scaling laws are found to be consistent with similar scaling relations obtained in other seismically active regions of the world. Such an investigation should prove useful in seismic hazard and risk-related studies of the region. The relations developed in this study may be useful for the seismic hazard studies in the region.     

Behaviour of masonry structures during the Bhuj earthquake of january 2001

A variety of masonry structures suffered damage during the recent Bhuj earthquake. Some of the traditional masonry structures had no earthquake resistant features and suffered considerable damage. This paper attempts to evaluate the behaviour of masonry structures based on the type of masonry used in places like Bhuj, Anjar, Bhachau, Morbi, Samakhyali and several other places. Quite a few masonry buildings had used earthquake resistant features like lintel bands and corner reinforcements. The cracking and failure patterns of such buildings have also been examined. The paper concludes with a discussion on the relevance of the current codal provisions for earthquake resistance of masonry structures and the direction of further research in the area.     

The Bhuj, India, earthquake: lessons learned for earthquake safety of dams on alluvium

The Bhuj, India, earthquake of 26 January 2001, M_s 7.9, caused dams built on alluvium to sustain damage ranging from cosmetic to severe. Major damage was caused almost entirely by soil liquefaction in the alluvium. The critical factor was the level of earthquake ground motion.

The Bhuj earthquake showed that peak horizontal accelerations (PHAs)≤0.2 g were generally safe. PHAs>0.2 g were hazardous, when unconsolidated granular foundation soils were water saturated. N values of <20 are indicative of susceptibility to soil liquefaction. The Bhuj experience showed that alluvial foundation soils, subject to a PHA>0.2 g, must be evaluated over the full area beneath a new dam and all soils deemed susceptible to liquefaction must be either removed or treated. For remediating an old dam, reliable options are removal and replacement of liquefiable alluvium beneath upstream and downstream portions of the dam, combined with building berms designed to provide stability for the dam should there be a strength loss in soils beneath the dam.     

Machine learning-based thermal anomalies detection from MODIS LST associated with the Mw 7.7 Awaran,Pakistan earthquake

Natural Hazards - Satellite based thermal anomaly occurs as a substantial precursor for strong earthquakes, as the need for earthquake precursor detection has very important for impending main...     

Mapping the liquefaction induced soil moisture changes using remote sensing technique: an attempt to map the earthquake induced liquefaction around Bhuj, Gujarat, India

The Bhuj earthquake (Mw = 7.9) occurred in the western part of India on 26th January 2001 and resulted in the loss of 20,000 lives and caused extensive damage to property. Soil liquefaction related ground failures such as lateral spreading caused significant damage to bridges, dams and other civil engineering structures in entire Kachchh peninsula. The Bhuj area is a part of large sedimentary basin filled with Jurassic, Tertiary and Quaternary deposits. This work pertains to mapping the areas that showed sudden increase in soil moisture after the seismic event, using remote sensing technique. Multi-spectral, spatial and temporal data sets from Indian Remote Sensing Satellite are used to derive the Liquefaction Sensitivity Index (LSeI). The basic concept behind LSeI is that the near infrared and shortwave infrared regions of electromagnetic spectrum are highly absorbed by soil moisture. Thus, the LSeI is herein used to identify the areas with increase in soil moisture after the seismic event. The LSeI map of Bhuj is then correlated with field-based observation on Cyclic Stress Ratio (CSR) and Cyclic Resistance Ratio (CRR), depth to water table, soil density and Liquefaction Severity Index (LSI). The derived LSeI values are in agreement with liquefaction susceptible criteria and observed LSI (R ² = 0.97). The results of the study indicate that the LSeI after calibration with LSI can be used as a quick tool to map the liquefied areas. On the basis of LSeI, LSI, CRR, CSR and saturation, the unconsolidated sediments of the Bhuj area are classified into three susceptibility classes.     

Estimation of earthquake source parameters in the Kachchh seismic zone,Gujarat, India,using three component S-wave spectra

Earthquake source parameters and crustal \(Q_{0}\) values for the 138 selected local events of (\(\hbox {M}_{\mathrm{w}}{:}2.5{-}4.4\)) the 2001 Bhuj earthquake sequence have been computed through inversion modelling of S-waves from three-component broadband seismometer data. SEISAN software has been used to locate the identified local earthquakes, which were recorded at least three or more stations of the Kachchh seismological network. Three component spectra of S-wave are being inverted by using the Levenberg–Marquardt non-linear inversion technique, wherein the inversion scheme is formulated based on \(\omega ^{2}\) source model. SAC Software (seismic analysis code) is being utilized for calculating three-component displacement and velocity spectra of S-wave. The displacement spectra are used for estimating corner frequency (in Hz) and long period spectral level (in nm-s). These two parameters play a key role in estimating earthquake source parameters. The crustal \({Q}_{0}\) values have been computed simultaneously for each component of three-component broadband seismograph. The estimated seismic moment (\(M_{0}\)) and source radius (r) using S-wave spectra range from 7.03E+12 to 5.36E+15 N-m and 178.56 to 565.21 m, respectively. The corner frequencies for S-wave vary from 3.025 to 7.425 Hz. We also estimated the radiated energy (\(E_{S}\)) using velocity spectra, which is varying from 2.76E+06 to 4.07E+11 Joules. The estimated apparent stress drop and static stress drop values range from 0.01 to 2.56 and 0.53 to 36.79 MPa, respectively. Our study also reveals that estimated \(Q_{0}\) values vary from 119.0 to 7229.5, with an average \(Q_{0}\) value of 701. Another important parameter, by which the earthquake rupture process can be recognized, is Zuniga parameter. It suggests that most of the Kachchh events follow the frictional overshoot model. Our estimated static stress drop values are higher than the apparent stress drop values. And the stress drop values are quite larger for intraplate earthquakes than the interplate earthquakes.