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Regional variation of stress level in the Himalayas after the 25 April 2015 Gorkha earthquake (Nepal) estimated using b-values

Ramesh Pudi, Tapas R. Martha, & K Vinod Kumar

Published March 8, 2018, SCEC Contribution #8154

The Gutenberg–Richter (G–R) relation and its parameters reflect the distribution of magnitude
and frequency of earthquakes in a seismically active region. Different segments of the Himalayas
from west to east behave differently in their G–R relation. In this study, b-values from the G–R
relation were computed for the four different seismic zones of the Himalayas, in order to
understand the regional variation of stress levels. It was found that the b-value of the Eastern
zone is relatively lower than that of the other zones. The b-values before and after the Gorkha (25
April 2015) and Dolakha (12 May 2015) earthquakes were compared for the Central-II seismic
zone, where the epicentres of both earthquakes were located. It was observed that the b-value has
increased gradually in this region since stress was released episodically. It was also observed that
b-values in adjacent zones are lower than that in the source region of the 25 April 2015
earthquake, implying high-stress accumulation. This indicates that the recurrence period of a
large earthquake will be high in adjacent zones, particularly in the Eastern zone.

Key Words
G–R relation, magnitude completeness (Mc), Gorkha earthquake

Citation
Pudi, R., Martha, T. R., & Kumar, K. (2018). Regional variation of stress level in the Himalayas after the 25 April 2015 Gorkha earthquake (Nepal) estimated using b-values. Journal of Geophysics and Engineering, 15(3), 921-927. doi: 10.1088/1742-2140/aaa26c.