Session

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India plate motion and its interactions with Eurasian plate along the Himalayan and Indo-Burmese arc

Techniques such as geological mapping, subsurface imaging, and GPS measurements have been providing valuable information towards quantification of plate tectonic forces or strain budget and configuration of subsurface faults, thus helping understand earthquakes. GPS measurements in the Indian subcontinent suggest that the India plate moves at a rate of v 5 cm/year towards the northeast and deforms internally at a rate slower than 2 mm/year, consistent with the relatively low seismicity in the plate interior regions. Along its northern boundary in the Himalayan arc, it subducts under the Eurasian plate following a stick and slip manner resulting in frequent earthquakes along the arc. The most detailed and dense GPS measurements in the Garhwal Kumaon region of the Himalayan arc, imply a strain accumulation corresponding to a slip deficit rate of 18 mm/year. Measurements also suggest that coupling between the two plates is strong and homogeneous, making it the most vulnerable seismic segment of the Himalaya which has not released strain in the past >500 years. The speaker will discuss the GPS measurement studies performed by his team along the Indo-Burmese arc. The results of the study suggest that a large part of plate motion between the India and Sunda plate is accommodated along the Churachandpur Mao fault in a predominant strike-slip manner ruling out subduction along this boundary.