Quaternary tectonic history of seismically active intraplate Kachchh Rift Basin,western India:A review

Since the recorded historical period,the Kachchh Rift Basin(KRB)has encountered numerous moderate to large magnitude earthquakes.According to the series of seismicity research so far,there are several important points of debate regarding the tectonic history and evolution of the KRB,especially during the Quaternary period.Therefore,the main objective of the present research is to inspect and perceive the association amongst the strain build-up,earthquake provenance,landform evolution and progression as archived by the Quaternary deposits of the KRB.The previous studies demonstrated the evolutions of various landforms,such as the uplifted fluvial terraces,formation of the gorges,uplifted alluvial fan sequences,which can be ideally used to reconstruct the neotectonic history along active faults of KRB.Considering this,the analysis of the accessible and supportive data,including geochronology provided by earlier studies along with some new dataset for a superior knowledge on the Quaternary tectonic forces prevailing in the KRB,have been carried out.Furthermore,we also emphasized the differences and directions for future potential research issues.The observations of variability in uplift rates across the various active faults in the KRB suggest a complex geological history during the Quaternary period.The results show that the vertical uplift rate along the significant active faults range from 0.8 to 2.8 mm/yr,demonstrating the variable tectonic stress regime prevailing in the KRB.The uplift rates constricted from geomorphic and chronological aspects suggest that the tectonic movements within the Kachchh intraplate region is regulated by the fault segments and the present tectonic stress field is in accordance with the encompassing tectonic stress field associated with the northward movement of the Indian plate corresponding to the Eurasian plate.

Mountain highway stability threading on the fragile terrain of upper Ganga catchment(Uttarakhand Himalaya),India

Roads are the most critical means of connectivity in Himalayan villages.However,the terrain is inherently fragile with varied geological,geomorphological,ecological,and climate regimes,that result in frequent slope failure and disruption in connectivity.The risk is further to be increased by extreme events-generated hazards,which are expected to rise in frequency and magnitude with ongoing intervention,however,can improve the sustainability of road networks.The present study attempts to analyse and quantify the impacts of a major road widening project initiated in 2018 in the upper Ganga catchment,Uttarakhand Himalaya which has destabilised valley slopes along the widened segments.Also,a large quantity of excavated sediments is dumped down slopes,which is posing a threat to aquatic biodiversity.The estimates are based on Google Earth imagery of a few representative road segments recently widened in the upper Ganga catchment,which indicate a substantial increase in the landslide and unstable slope area following the road widening.The increase in unstable slope area is attributed to improper road widening approaches and poor slope management in seismically active Himalayan terrain.Further,the mean velocity plots of Persistent Scatterer Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar(PSInSAR)indicate that the segments undergoing road widening are coherent with areas of significant earth surface change.A broad correlation between the road width and sediment yield indicates that even a slight increase in road width can result in a large-scale mass removal from the toe of the hillslope,inflicting cascading impact on hillslopes.The study recommends a more flexible road construction approach based on the environmental and geological aspects of the terrain for sustainable road networks.Further,the impact of climate change is looming over the Himalayas,and the relation between climate change and its potential effects on the stability of slopes remains an open issue.

Geodetic characterization of active Katrol Hill Fault(KHF)of Central Mainland Kachchh,western India

After the M7.7 earthquake in 2001,the Kachchh rift basin became the focus of various geological and geophysical researches on the western Indian plate.As an essential technology,the Global Navigation Satellite System(GNSS)has been utilized to study the deformation pattern in the central mainland Kachchh.We select the east-west striking Katrol Hill Fault(KHF)as the study area and analyze the crustal deformation pattern using the datasets from 2014 to 2019.The geodetic results along the KHF reveal a mean deformation of about 2.1 mm per year,which is higher in the eastern part and lower in the central and western parts.The investigation of deformation and derived strain reveals the segmented behavior of KHF,while the dominance of compressive strain(maximum 22 nanostrain/yr)in the eastern segment makes it the most active segment of the KHF.A higher deformation rate along the eastern KHF can be considered significant in terms of seismic hazard for this part of the Indian plate.

Crustal deformation measurements by global positioning system(GPS)along NSL,western India

The Narmada Son Lineament(NSL)is a major palaeo-rift system and seismically active intra-plate region.In this paper,we processed and analyzed the GPS data from 2009 to 2016 to study the geodynamic characteristics of NSL.The velocities derived from GPS were used to calculate the associated deformation and crustal strain,while the slip deficit was estimated using the horizontal motion of GPS sites.The investigation reveals that the maximum deformation of western NSL is 1.6 mm per year,and the upper bound of the seismic moment(M;)is 2.0×10;dyn/cm,corresponding to an earthquake of about 6.0 magnitude.The study highlights the significance of Aravalli and Satpura mobile belts.The estimated strain of 0.03μstrain/yr is low but comparable to the stable continental region,and a close association of factors(the fragility,crustal conductors,and compressive tectonics)is considered responsible for seismogenic activities in western NSL.