Collaborative Research: Rapid Response to the Mw 7.9 Earthquake of April 25, 2015 in Nepal

University Of California-Riverside, Riverside CA

Investigators

Abstract

This project is a rapid action to deploy a temporary seismological network following the Mw 7.9 earthquake of April 25, 2015 in Nepal. Data collected during the project will be made openly available to the seismological community one month after the array is uninstalled. This data collection impacts the Himalayan region known for its great seismological hazard. Aftershock deployment in the area of the 2015 earthquake will enable seismologists to conduct research, which will increase our understanding of the behavior of the Main Himalayan Thrust, a major underground fault responsible of this and other historical destructive earthquakes in the Himalayan region. In this project 25 seismic stations will be deployed in the greater epicentral region of the April 25, 2015 earthquake, and in western Nepal where a long-standing gap has accumulated about 10 m of deficit of slip since it last ruptured in 1505. These data will be useful in particular to determine a well-constrained source model of the 2015 earthquake, define the geometry of the Main Himalayan thrust, and analyze the relationship between post-seismic deformation and aftershocks. This deployment will be closely coordinated with another rapid deployment by US universities with 20 additional seismic stations that will increase the size of the monitoring network.