Slip pulse and resonance of Kathmandu basin during the 2015 Mw 7.8 Gorkha earthquake, Nepal imaged with space geodesy

John Galetzka; D. Melgar; J.F. Genrich; J. Geng; S. Owen; E. O. Lindsey; X. Xu; Y. Bock; J.-P. Avouac; L. B. Adhikari; B. N. Upreti; B. Pratt-Sitaula; T. N. Bhattarai; B. P. Sitaula; A. Moore; Kenneth W. Hudnut; W. Szeliga; J. Normandeau; M. Fend; M Flouzat; L. Bollinger; P. Shrestha; B. Koirala; U. Gautam; M. Bhatterai; R. Gupta; T. Kandel; C. Timsina; S.N. Sapkota; S. Rajaure; N. Maharjan

doi:10.1126/science.aac6383

Slip pulse and resonance of Kathmandu basin during the 2015 Mw 7.8 Gorkha earthquake, Nepal imaged with space geodesy

Science

By: John Galetzka, D. Melgar, J.F. Genrich, J. Geng, S. Owen, E. O. Lindsey, X. Xu, Y. Bock, J.-P. Avouac, L. B. Adhikari, B. N. Upreti, B. Pratt-Sitaula, T. N. Bhattarai, B. P. Sitaula, A. Moore, Kenneth W. Hudnut, W. Szeliga, J. Normandeau, M. Fend, M Flouzat, L. Bollinger, P. Shrestha, B. Koirala, U. Gautam, M. Bhatterai, R. Gupta, T. Kandel, C. Timsina, S.N. Sapkota, S. Rajaure, and N. Maharjan

https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aac6383

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Abstract

Detailed geodetic imaging of earthquake rupture enhances our understanding of earthquake physics and induced ground shaking. The April 25, 2015 Mw 7.8 Gorkha, Nepal earthquake is the first example of a large continental megathrust rupture beneath a high-rate (5 Hz) GPS network. We use GPS and InSAR data to model the earthquake rupture as a slip pulse of ~20 km width, ~6 s duration, and with peak sliding velocity of 1.1 m/s that propagated toward Kathmandu basin at ~3.3 km/s over ~140 km. The smooth slip onset, indicating a large ~5 m slip-weakening distance, caused moderate ground shaking at high >1Hz frequencies (~16% g) and limited damage to regular dwellings. Whole basin resonance at 4-5 s period caused collapse of tall structures, including cultural artifacts.

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Additional publication details
Publication type	Article
Publication Subtype	Journal Article
Title	Slip pulse and resonance of Kathmandu basin during the 2015 Mw 7.8 Gorkha earthquake, Nepal imaged with space geodesy
Series title	Science
DOI	10.1126/science.aac6383
Volume	349
Issue	6252
Year Published	2015
Language	English
Publisher	AAAS
Contributing office(s)	Earthquake Science Center
Description	5 p.
First page	1091
Last page	1095
Country	Nepal
State	Gorkha
Online Only (Y/N)	N
Additional Online Files (Y/N)	N
Google Analytic Metrics	Metrics page