Evidence for a Great Medieval Earthquake (~1100 A.D.) in the Central Himalayas, Nepal
Jérôme Lavé|Doug Yule|Soma Nath Sapkota|K. Basant|Christopher Madden|Mikaël Attal|R. P. Pandey
The Himalayan orogen has produced three thrust earthquakes with moment magnitude ( M w ) 7.8 to 8.5 during the past century, yet no surface ruptures associated these great have been documented. Here, we present paleoseismic evidence from east central Nepal that, since ∼700 A.D., a single earthquake ruptured Frontal Thrust fault at ∼1100 displacement of ∼17 (+5/–3) meters and lateral extent size that could exceeded 240 kilometers ∼ 8.8, respectively. Ruptures &lt;8.2 events would contribute frontal Himalayas folding but stop before reaching surface. These findings require substantial modifications current regional seismic hazard models.
Science|HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe)|HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe)|PubMed