The delhi 1960 earthquake: Epicentre, depth and magnitude


Por: Singh S.K., Suresh G., Dattatrayam R.S., Shukla H.P., Martin S., Havskov J., Pérez-Campos X., Iglesias A.

Publicada: 25 oct 2013
Categoría: Multidisciplinary

Resumen:
Though the Delhi earthquake of 27 August 1960 is important in understanding seismic hazard to the city, there is large uncertainty associated with its reported epicentre, depth and magnitude. The reported epicentres given in different catalogues are not consistent with felt and damage reports, and the depths (58-109 km) are also inconsistent with recorded waveforms (including the excitation of Lg waves), decay of seismic intensities with distance, number of aftershocks, earthquake sound and seismotectonics of the region. The reported magnitude of the earthquake varies between 5.3 and 6.0. We have performed an exhaustive analysis of the available information, including comparison of the seismograms of the 1960 earthquake with six recent well-recorded events as well as with the Moradabad earthquake of 1966. We find that: (1) A more reliable epicentre as compared to the instrumentally determined one, is provided by the locus of the strongest seismic intensity: 28.47°N, 77.00°E (between Delhi Cantonment and Gurgaon). (2) The earthquake was shallow (depth = 30 km, but most likely = 15 km). (3) The magnitude of the earthquake was Mw 4.8 (range Mw 4.6-4.9). The seismic intensity is also consistent with Mw < 5.0. We conclude that the Delhi 1960 earthquake occurred between Delhi Cantonment and Gurgaon, it was shallow and its magnitude was 4.8, significantly less than M 6.0 often used in studies dealing with hazard in the city.

Filiaciones:
Singh S.K.:
 Univ Nacl Autonoma Mexico, Inst Geofis, Mexico City 04510, DF, Mexico

Suresh G.:
 India Meteorological Department, Lodi Road, New Delhi 110 003, India

Dattatrayam R.S.:
 India Meteorological Department, Lodi Road, New Delhi 110 003, India

Shukla H.P.:
 India Meteorological Department, Lodi Road, New Delhi 110 003, India

Martin S.:
 Victoria University of Wellington, School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences, Wellington, New Zealand

Havskov J.:
 Department of Earth Sciences, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway

Pérez-Campos X.:
 Univ Nacl Autonoma Mexico, Inst Geofis, Mexico City 04510, DF, Mexico

Iglesias A.:
 Univ Nacl Autonoma Mexico, Inst Geofis, Mexico City 04510, DF, Mexico
ISSN: 00113891
Editorial
INDIAN ACAD SCIENCES, C V RAMAN AVENUE, SADASHIVANAGAR, P B #8005, BANGALORE 560 080, INDIA, India
Tipo de documento: Article
Volumen: 105 Número: 8
Páginas: 1155-1164
WOS Id: 000327053200027

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