Collaborative Research: Seismotectonics and Structure of Creeping Thrusts and Mountain Building of the Himalaya

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EAR-9903066SheehanSince the Himalayan orogeny is very active, the accompanying earthquake seismicity can be used to test tectonic models of faulting. Knowledge of the seismicity in the region is so far limited, based on single component local network and teleseismic recordings. This project will deploy 21 broadband seismometers in eastern Nepal and southern Tibet. The main studies and their purposes are: (1) teleseismic P and S arrival times and waveforms will be used to decipher the general crustal and upper mantle structures under the Himalaya to determine the presence of subduction zone and other structures, (2) the arrival times of hundreds of earthquakes under the orogen will be used to image the 3-D crustal structures underneath the Himalaya and relocate earthquakes to determine the internal structure and rheology of the orgogen, (3) SKS anisotropy under the Himalaya will be used to map upper mantle flow, and (4) focal mechanisms from regional moment tensor inversion will be used to determine kinematics of orogenic deformation.