Abstract Database

MOMENT TENSOR AND STRESS TENSOR ANALYSIS FOR EARTHQUAKES IN THE HINDU KUSH REGION

MEE13607
REHMAN Shafiq Ur
Supervisor: Bunichiro SHIBAZAKI
Country: Pakistan
Abstract

We determined moment tensor solutions of earthquakes with magnitudes greater than Mw 4.5 for the Hindu Kush region and some inland earthquakes in Pakistan. We used near source seismic broadband data for the period 2011-2014 from the Pakistan Metrological Department’s local seismic network. We also computed stress tensor using the fault parameters acquired from the moment tensor solutions. Seismic activity in the Hindu Kush subduction zone is highest in southern areas at intermediate depth. Most of the analyzed earthquakes were clustered in this region. Dominant faulting in this zone was determined to be thrust. We found that the earthquake mechanism just south-west of the Hindu Kush subduction zone had a dominant strike slip component and was very shallow. These earthquakes are different from subduction zone earthquakes and may be attributed to unknown strike slip fault. We found that estimating depth can be improved significantly for the shallow seismicity of the Kashmir region. We estimated the stress tensor of earthquakes with depth range of 137 km – 282 km in the Hindu Kush subduction zone. We found that the maximum stress axis was horizontal and oriented in a northeast to southwest direction, whereas the minimum stress axis was nearly vertical due to compressive tectonics.