The 2001 Mw 7.6 Bhuj earthquake, low fault friction, and the crustal support of plate driving forces in India

Copley, Alex and Avouac, Jean-Philippe and Hollingsworth, James and Leprince, Sébastien (2011) The 2001 Mw 7.6 Bhuj earthquake, low fault friction, and the crustal support of plate driving forces in India. Journal of Geophysical Research, 116. 11 PP.. DOI https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JB008137

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Abstract

We present a source model for the 2001 Mw 7.6 Bhuj earthquake of northwest India. The slip distribution suggests a high stress drop (∼35 MPa) and, together with the depth distribution of aftershocks, that the entire crust is seismogenic. We suggest that the active faults have an effective coefficient of friction of ∼0.08, which is sufficient for the seismogenic crust to support the majority of the compressive force transmitted through the Indian lithosphere. This model is consistent with the midcrustal depth of the transition from extension to compression beneath the Ganges foreland basin where India underthrusts southern Tibet. If the coefficient of friction were the more traditional value of 0.6, the lithosphere would be required to support a net force roughly an order of magnitude higher than current estimates in order to match the observed depth of the neutral fiber.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	NIL AREP;
Subjects:	02 - Geodynamics, Geophysics and Tectonics
Journal or Publication Title:	Journal of Geophysical Research
Volume:	116
Page Range:	11 PP.
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JB008137
Depositing User:	Sarah Humbert
Date Deposited:	01 Sep 2011 08:20
Last Modified:	23 Jul 2013 10:02
URI:	http://eprints.esc.cam.ac.uk/id/eprint/2172

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