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Seismotectonics at the terminal ends of the Himalayan Arc

Basab Mukhopadhyaya; Anshuman Acharyyaa; Debkumar Bhattacharyyaa; Sujit Dasguptaa; Prabhas Pandea a Geological Survey of India, Kolkata, India First published on: 04 May 2011

To cite this Article Mukhopadhyay, Basab , Acharyya, Anshuman , Bhattacharyya, Debkumar , Dasgupta, Sujit and

Pande, Prabhas(2011) 'Seismotectonics at the terminal ends of the Himalayan Arc', Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk, 2: 2, 159 181, First published on: 04 May 2011 (iFirst) To link to this Article: DOI: 10.1080/19475705.2010.536263 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19475705.2010.536263

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Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk Vol. 2, No. 2, June 2011, 159181

Seismotectonics at the terminal ends of the Himalayan Arc

BASAB MUKHOPADHYAY*{, ANSHUMAN ACHARYYA{, DEBKUMAR BHATTACHARYYA{, SUJIT DASGUPTA{ and PRABHAS PANDE{ {Geological Survey of India, Kolkata, India; {DDG (Retd), Geological Survey of India, Kolkata, India
(Received 30 June 2010; in nal form 27 October 2010) The Himalayan arc has an arcuate EW trending geometry with reversal of trend at the terminal ends Nanga-Parbat (western) syntaxis and Namcha-Barwa (eastern) syntaxis. Both ends are characterized by an actively deformed uplifted dome with its anks bounded by active shear zones/faults that cause the majority of the seismicity. Compiled map data and seismo-geological depth sections around these two syntaxial zones have brought out active crustal structure and seismotectonic setup. The Nanga-Parbat syntaxis exhibits upward bending and subsequent thickening of the Indian plate with the cluster of seismicity along the NNESSW trending Raikhot fault/Diamer shear in its western margin and a comparatively less active RupalChichi shear zone of NS trend with diused seismicity towards the east. The 2005 Kashmir earthquake is spawned due to interaction of the Main Boundary thrust and the Muzaarabad fault. The NamchaBarwa syntaxis displays a fault-bounded upliftment and thickening of the Indian plate where Canyon thrust marks the boundary between the Indian and Eurasian plates. The occurrence of the 1950 Assam earthquake in the vicinity of the eastern syntaxis is attributed to a regional right lateral strike-slip motion on the causative fault plane. The seismicity in the syntaxes is primarily controlled by strike-slip faults/shear zones along the anks of popup antiforms.

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1.

Introduction

The Himalayas have an EW bow-like shape with trend reversal and higher elevations at the terminal ends: Nanga-Parbat in the west (western syntaxis) and Namcha Barwa in the east (eastern syntaxis) (gure 1). Actively deformed uplifted domes characterize these two ends and their anks are deformed by seismically active shear zones/faults. The geodynamic interactions of these shear zones/faults aided by deep river erosion (Indus in the west and Siang in the east) and mass removal exposes the exhumed Cenozoic metamorphic rocks, granulites and granites originating from the Indian plate. The structure of the western syntaxis is expressed by a popup antiformal structure of NW vergence with high-grade gneissic rocks of the Nanga-ParbatHarmosh massif at its core. The Nanga-Parbat massif is surrounded entirely by Main Mantle Thrust (MMT) and bordered in the west and east by accreted rocks of the Mesozoic Island arc system of the Kohistan and

*Corresponding author. Email: basabmukhopadhyay@yahoo.com

Geomatics, Natural Hazards and Risk ISSN 1947-5705 Print/ISSN 1947-5713 Online 2011 Taylor & Francis http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals DOI: 10.1080/19475705.2010.536263

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Figure 1. Location map of western and Eastern syntaxes. NP, Nanga Parbat; NB, Namcha Barwa; MBT, Main Boundary Thrust; MCT, Main Central Thrust.

Ladakh arc, and to the north by rocks of the Karakoram arc along the Main Karakoram Thrust (MKT)/Shyok suture (Naqvi 2005). The eastern syntaxis, on the other hand, a rather small but sharp syntaxial bend compared to the western one, is dened by a popup antiformal structure verging towards the NE in the eastern terminal end of the Himalayan arc. It is represented by two antiformal structures: a NESW-trending Namcha Barwa antiform with high-grade mobile rocks at core towards north and a NWSE-trending Siang window with folded low-grade metasedimentary and meta-volcanic rocks of Abor and Miri formations in the south. In the last three and half decades, several scientists studied the seismotectonics of the western and eastern syntaxes to throw light on the contemporary geodynamics, crustal evolution and tectonics of the Himalaya (Rastogi 1974, Tandon and Srivastava 1975, Kumar 1975, Chandra 1978, Molnar and Chen 1983, Baronowski et al. 1984, Mukhopadhyay 1984, Biswas and Dasgupta 1986, Coward et al. 1987, Dasgupta et al. 1987, Verma and Prasad 1987, Chen and Molnar 1990, Holt et al. 1991, Nandy and Dasgupta 1991, Pegler and Das 1998, Singh 2000, Purnachandra Rao et al. 2003, Kayal 2008, Tiwari et al. 2009). These studies also gave a broad regional framework pertaining to tectonics, relationship between active tectonic surfaces and seismicity, crustal structure and also focus on the enduring crustal evolution. Further, an account of the seismotectonics in and around the Indian subcontinent was captured in frames by a publication of the Geological Survey of India, Seismotectonic Atlas of India and its Environs (Dasgupta et al. 2000). The exercise, as a unique comprehensive step, has marked the correlation between earthquake occurrences, fault plane solutions and active seismic structures of the entire Indian subcontinent with special reference to the Himalayas. The analysis was based on geological, geophysical and seismologic data compiled up to 1993. As a follow-up of this study, we zoomed into both the terminal ends of the Himalaya for understanding the ongoing tectonics with the help of updated seismic data up to 2007, prepared up-to-date seismo-geological maps, and constructed eight seismo-geological depth sections. The compiled maps and seismogeological depth sections aimed to bring out the interaction between seismogenic surfaces, surface and subsurface geology and crustal conguration. 2. Data

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Earthquake data for the time period between 1905 and 2007 (source ISS/ISC/NEIC) with magnitude (mb 4) has been used for this study. For generating topographic

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proles on the seismo-geological depth sections, Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM) data of 90-m resolutions have been used. The available centroid-moment tensor (CMT) solutions for the area around the western syntaxis (data period 1980 2007) and the eastern syntaxis (data period 19502007) have been compiled from published sources and the HRVD website (www.seismology.harvard.edu) (tables 1 and 2). There are 949 earthquake (mb 4.0) records in the selected catalogue of the western syntaxis spanning the period 19052007. The area around the eastern syntaxis has recorded only 191 earthquakes (mb 4.0) for the time period 1906 2007. Earthquake frequencies in dierent magnitude classes for both the syntaxes are summarized in table 3. More numbers of earthquakes in the lower magnitude range (45.5) have been detected in the western sector in comparison to the eastern sector. The number of higher magnitude earthquakes (magnitude 4 5.5) is more or less the same in both of them. The presence of a strong seismic network in the western sector enables detection of low-magnitude tremors. Such a network is yet to be established in the eastern part of the Himalayas. Furthermore, the occurrences of earthquakes with focal depth greater than 100 km are more in the western sector compared to the eastern sector; the earthquakes in the eastern sector originate from a shallower crustal depth (*40 km). It is known that the catalogue data of the ISS/ISC/NEIC have depth errors, and many events are located with restricted depth. The utmost care has been taken to choose the events for constructing depth sections where events with restricted depths are removed from the catalogue used for further study. 3. Seismotectonic model of the Himalayas

The Himalayas came into existence due to collision of the Indian shield with the Eurasian/Tibetan plate, accompanied by compression and thrusting along major faults such as the Main Central Thrust (MCT), the Main Boundary Thrust (MBT) and the Main Frontal Thrust (MFT) (Valdiya 1976, Le Fort 1986). The deformation front propagated southward with the MFT as the most recently activated one in the entire sequence of thrusting. Seeber, Armbruster and Quittmeyer (1981) were the rst to suggest a tectonic model of the Himalayas from the seismic data analysis and suggested a gently dipping Indian slab, an overriding Tethyan slab and a sedimentary wedge (gure 2). The sedimentary wedge is decoupled from the Indian and Tethyan slabs. Simultaneous activation of the MCT and the MBT is also proposed in this model. However, Ni and Barazangi (1984) argued that the MCT became dormant and the MBT was active. In their model, the interface between the subducting slabs and sedimentary wedge is a plane of detachment and further north, the contact between the Indian and Tethyan plates is marked by a thrust, the Boundary Thrust (BT). The zone between plane of detachment and the BT roughly coincides with the high topographic gradient between the Lesser and the Higher Himalaya and is characterized by the steep dip of the MCT and ramping of the Himalayan crust at the northern edge of the Indian plate (Lyon-Cean and Molnar 1983, Schelling and Avouac 2000). Further north, below the higher range and Arita 1991, Lave of the Himalayas, a mid-crustal reector at a depth of *25 to *40 km has been imaged in the INDEPTH prole (Zhao et al. 1993, Nelson et al. 1996) and was named the Main Himalayan Thrust (MHT). In the extreme southern end of the Himalayas below the Ganga foredeep, the major detachment surface MFT is

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Fault Fault Auxiliary Fault plane Auxiliary Auxiliary T axis T axis N axis N axis P axis P axis plane 1 plane 1 plane strike plane dip plane slip Source 1 slip dip Plunge azimuth plunge azimuth plunge azimuth strike

Table 1. CMT solutions (Source: www.seismology.harvard.edu) for 21 earthquakes for the area around the western syntaxis. The solution parameters are discussed in the text in relation to the seismic clusters. The value of rst column (No.) is plotted on the map (gure 3) and section (gure 4).

No. Year MO DA HR MN Sec

Lat

Long Depth MW

B. Mukhopadhyay et al.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

1980 1980 1980 1981 1982 1992 1993 1993 1996 1999 2000 2001 2001 2002 2002 2004 2004 2004 2004 2005 2005 2006 2006 2007

2 8 8 9 2 1 4 6 11 5 6 7 9 11 11 2 2 10 10 10 10 3 9 10

13 23 23 12 22 24 8 15 19 9 19 16 28 3 20 14 14 31 31 8 8 10 11 26

22 21 21 7 17 5 3 23 10 21 22 16 4 7 21 10 11 0 6 3 10 7 18 6

9 36 50 15 59 4 49 12 44 38 41 7 37 33 32 30 57 18 2 50 46 50 12 50

40 55 5.7 58 58 53 34 23 52 11 50 19 59 40 36 28 3.3 39 56 52 35 17 29 10

35.9 32.6 32.5 35.2 35.2 35.1 35.8 35.2 35.5 36.8 35.2 32.6 33 35.1 35.5 34.8 34.8 34.9 35.2 34.4 34.7 32.6 35.6 35.3

76.76 75.37 75.4 73.48 73.4 74.45 78.15 77.53 77.86 73.21 77.43 73.14 75.46 74.7 74.66 73.22 73.12 74.44 74.37 73.47 73.12 73.51 78.09 76.62

80 15 15 10 15 103.4 15 15 15 69.2 40.4 85.2 40.5 16.8 15 12 19 20.3 14.7 12 12 24.7 18.9 12

6 5.5 5.6 6.2 5.3 5.5 5.2 5 6.9 5.3 5.4 5.1 4.9 5.3 6.3 5.4 5.3 4.7 5 7.6 6.5 5 5.5 5.2

62 54 57 79 80 3 2 3 20 9 8 62 74 17 17 65 70 23 0 68 78 62 2 10

49 56 38 240 299 133 136 321 138 104 134 243 10 299 134 311 342 159 352 334 349 22 129 139

8 5 2 6 10 86 68 69 69 38 77 23 8 10 13 25 18 1 68 20 10 10 60 64

304 319 305 116 133 3 40 224 299 7 264 100 130 206 229 134 136 249 82 128 135 273 35 28

27 36 33 9 2 3 21 20 6 51 10 15 14 70 68 1 8 67 22 9 7 26 30 24

210 226 214 25 43 223 227 52 46 205 43 4 222 86 354 44 229 341 261 221 226 178 220 233

281 293 298 107 123 268 269 95 180 229 179 65 323 45 204 111 339 247 39 334 328 246 260 274

20 10 12 36 43 86 73 74 71 49 77 36 32 30 30 49 40 22 74 40 39 21 68 66

66 63 82 79 76 0 714 713 170 736 7179 49 105 769 7117 57 119 792 7164 123 107 61 721 710

126 140 126 300 322 358 4 188 273 345 89 292 125 201 55 336 123 70 304 114 127 96 358 8

72 81 78 54 48 90 77 78 81 64 89 64 59 62 64 51 56 68 75 57 53 71 71 80

98 95 92 98 103 7176 7163 7163 19 7133 713 116 81 7102 775 122 68 789 716 65 77 101 7157 7156

HRV HRV HRV HRV HRV HRV HRV HRV HRV HRV HRV HRV HRV HRV HRV HRV HRV HRV HRV HRV HRV HRV HRV HRV

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Table 2.
Fault Fault Fault Auxiliary Auxiliary Auxiliary plane plane plane T axis T axis N axis N axis P axis P axis plane 1 plane plane slip Source dip strike plunge azimuth plunge azimuth plunge azimuth strike 1 dip 1 slip 22 57 351 0 81 33 171 81 78 261 12 291 60 157 19 193 334 60 62 88 150

CMT solutions for 17 earthquakes for the area around the eastern syntaxis. The solution parameters are discussed in the text in relation to the seismic clusters. The value of the rst column (No.) is plotted on the map (gure 5) and section (gure 6).

No. Year MO DA HR MN Sec Lat Long Depth mb/Ms Mw 8.7 8.7

1a

1950

15

14

30 28.4 96.68

1b

1950

15

14

30 28.3 96.76

2 15 10 22 5.2 6 94 44 1 47 190 330 60 5.4 50 347 77 0 40 167 257 5 90 5.7 30 345 60 167 1 75 273 10 90 93 77 221

1964

10

21

23

19 28

93.75

15

5.9

48

355

87

42

175

265

90

85

87 80 85 55

90 90 90 150

1967

14

58

28.4 94.29

1970

19

10

27.4 93.96

1979

12

48

54 30

95.48

1979

25

21

53 27.4 96.63

23

4.9

84

53

346

36

178

316

70

214

60

160

Seismotectonics

1982

22

16

39

32 29.9 94.99

14

42

262

48

81

178

306

60

52

63

30

1983

13

22

32 28.6 96.05

27

5.1

80

110

10

270

314

85

45

80

175

1984

20

14

53

59 28.7 96.36

26

16

58

124

25

268

315

84

48

60

174

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

1985 1988 1988 1998 2003 2004 2004 2005

8 1 9 9 8 5 9 6

1 25 3 26 18 24 27 1

12 1 12 18 9 22 17 20

13 12 52 27 3 1 5 6

52 27 56 14 10 3 41 45

29.2 29.8 30 27.9 29.6 27.1 29.8 28.9

95.16 94.87 97.38 93.6 95.56 97.14 95.55 94.63

40 33 15 33 29 26.5 31.1 19

5.4 5.4 5 5.1 5.4 4.8 5.2 6.1

5.7 5.3 4.9 5 5.5 5 5 5.9

50 29 11 65 5 78 5 47

187 356 170 270 290 335 81 8

14 61 9 12 75 12 78 5

294 173 262 27 179 147 194 273

37 1 76 21 14 2 11 42

34 265 31 122 21 238 350 178

176 37 248 233 65 339 126 209

15 69 35 26 77 45 79 6

153 159 7106 118 76 107 7176 26

292 135 88 22 156 136 35 93

83 71 57 67 84 48 86 87

76 23 779 77 7167 74 711 95

Ben Manahem 1974 Chen and Molnar, 1977 Baranowski et al. 1984 Baranowski et al. 1984 Molnar et al. 1977 Nandy and Dasgupta 1991 Nandy and Dasgupta 1991 Nandy and Dasgupta 1991 Nandy and Dasgupta 1991 Nandy and Dasgupta 1991 HRV HRV HRV HRV HRV HRV HRV HRV

163

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Table 3.

B. Mukhopadhyay et al.
Earthquakes for the western and eastern syntaxes are classied according to their magnitude and frequency. Eastern syntaxis (Data period 1906 2007) Earthquake Magnitude (mb) Range 44.5 4.65.0 5.15.5 5.66.0 6.16.5 4 6.5 Total Number 92 54 22 16 5 2 191

Western syntaxis (Data period 19052007) Earthquake Magnitude (mb) Range 44.5 4.65.0 5.15.5 5.66.0 6.16.5 4 6.5 Total Number 501 337 84 20 5 2 949

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Figure 2. Seismotectonic model of Himalaya (modied after the compilation of Kayal 2010; Kayal 2001; from Seeber et al. 1981 and Valdiya 1976). Q, Quaternary; US, MS, LS, Upper, Middle and Lower Siwaliks; IS, Indus Suture; MBT, Main Boundary Thrust; MCT, Main Central Thrust; MFT, Main Frontal Thrust; MHT, Main Himalayan Thrust.

located at a shallower depth (*5 km) and extends subhorizontally northward. The MFT in the frontal belt joins the splays of MBT and MCT below the Lesser Himalayas, and further connects to the MHT below the Higher Himalayas. Further, the wedge-shaped Himalayan collision boundary denes the crustal scale fault bend folds, the formation of the Lesser Himalayan Duplexes that form taper and controlled the foreland-ward propagation of the thrust sheets [Mukul (2010) from his study in the DarjilingSikkimTibet (DaSiT) Himalayan wedge]. Recently, relict majorite has been identied from the eclogite rocks of Himalaya. This in turn shows that the Indian tectonic plate was forced down under the Asian plate, sinking down into the Earths mantle to a depth of at least 200 kms (Pandey et al., 2010). Another important aspect of Himalayan seismicity is the presence of lower crustal earthquakes beyond the Himalayan seismic zone south of the MBT in the Ganges Alluvial plain. Two such large earthquakes that occurred within such a premise are 15 January 1934 Bihar earthquake (Ms 8.4), 60 km south of MBT at a focal depth of *30 km (Abe 1981) and 20 August 1988 BiharNepal earthquake (Ms 6.6) with an estimated focal depth of *50 km

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(Kayal 2010). GSI (1993) interpreted the occurrence of these earthquakes due to interaction of a long transverse fault (East Patna Fault) with Himalayan trend. The role of such transverse faults that run across the Indo-Gangetic plain and transverse to the Himalayan trend has been argued for the occurrence of such earthquakes throughout the Himalayan arc south of the MBT (Mukhopadhyay 1984, Kayal 2001). Monsalve et al. (2006), based on precision digital seismic data in the Central Himalayas, has identied a bi-modal seismic zone south of MBT, one along the detachment surface and another at the deeper zone at 4050 km level. In the light of the above data, Kayal (2010) argued that the deeper events of 1934 and 1988 are related to the seismic zone of 4050 km level and are not connected to the main Himalayan seismicity along the plane of detachment. In recent times, due to locking of the Himalayan thrusts, the interactions between MFT, MBT and allied thrust planes have generated many great earthquakes (1905 Kangra, 1934 Bihar, 1950 Assam, 2005 Kashmir, etc.) in the frontal belt of the Himalayas and moderate-sized events (1980 Gangtok, 1991 Uttarkashi, 1999 Chamoli, etc.) in the mid-crustal ramp zone (Dasgupta et al. 2000).

4. 4.1

Seismic zones and seismotectonic sections around the western syntaxis General geology

The earthquake epicentres were plotted on a generalized tectono-geological map (gure 3) compiled from the Seismotectonic Atlas of India and its Environs (Dasgupta et al. 2000). The geological sketch map displays a complex litho-tectonic packet that are structurally controlled and overprinted by strong discontinuities. Discontinuities like the IndusTsangpo Suture Zone (ISZ) and the Main Mantle Thrust (MMT) are present in between the Sub and Lesser Himalaya lithopackets and the KohistanLadakh arc, whereas the Main Karakoram Thrust (MKT)/ Shyok Suture Zone (SSZ) is observed in between the Kohistan/Ladakh Complex and the HindukushKarakoram belt. The litho-units of the Karakoram belt comprise trans-Himalayan rocks of Karakoram Group, Karakoram Granite and Karakoram metamorphic complex. The Kohistan Island arc lithopackets representing the Neo-Tethyan oceanic lithosphere of Mesozoic age demonstrates rocks of Kohistan/Ladakh granitic complex, accreted rocks of Shyok Group, lange zone, basic island arc type volcanics of Chilas dismembered ophiolite/me complex, Kamila amphibolites, etc. Towards the south, the rocks of the Kohistan island arc are separated from the Peshawar and Kashmir basins by the MMT, while in the east Ladakh Batholith is delimited by the ISZ from the ophiolitedotted accretionary complex (Naqvi 2005). The MMT in the northern part swerves around the Nanga-ParbatHarmosh massif characterized by gradual uplift and exposing granitoid and metamorphites of the Indian Plate. The Cenozoic continental collision (Honneger et al. 1982) between the Indian and Eurasian plates had welded the entire sequence described above and promoted intense crustal shortening, metamorphism, crystallization and movement of the thrust sheets from north to south. The entire sequence is thrusted sequentially southward over the lesser Himalayan rocks along the MCT, subsequently on sub-Himalayan foredeep basin lled with Siwalik molasse originated from the Himalayan uplift by the MBT and nally to the Indo-Gangetic plane by the MFT.

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Figure 3. Seismo-geological map of areas in and around the western syntaxis. General geology, earthquake with magnitude variation, tectonic planes and zones of earthquake clustering are shown. SRT, Salt Range Thrust; JMT, Jwalamukhi Thrust; MBT, Main Boundary Thrust; MCT, Main Central Thrust; ISZ, IndusTsangpo Suture Zone; MF, Muzaarabad Fault; MMT, Main Mantle Thrust; MFT, Main Frontal Thrust; MKT, Main Karakoram Thrust; RF, Raikhot Fault; RCS, RupalChichi Shear Zone; A, Attock; P, Poonch; An, Anantnag; L, Leh; NP, Nanga Parbat.

4.2

Seismo-geological sections

The earthquake epicentre plot on map (gure 3) has brought out ve visible seismic zones from west to east: KashmirHazara; Kohistan; Nanga-Parbat; Lesser Himalayan zone; and Karakoram. These are further analysed by drawing seismogeological cross-sections to understand the plate conguration in conjunction to the known seismo-tectonic model of the Himalaya described in an earlier section. The earthquake data belonging to three boxes (gure 3) are extracted to draw four seismo-geological sections. Section lines (XX/, YY/, WW/ and ZZ/), 24 wellconstrained fault plane solutions with beach ball diagrams are shown (table 1; gure 4). 4.2.1 KashmirHazara syntaxis and Kohistan arc. The KashmirHazara syntaxis and Kohistan arc (box marked as section X in gure 3) encompass both the Lesser Himalayan and Kohistan arc tectonic blocks. The earthquakes in the Kashmir Hazara syntaxis are nucleated from the movement along the MBT and recent

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Figure 4. Seismo-geological map with location of fault plane solutions. Beach ball diagrams from the data in table 1 are presented in the right panel. Section lines for seismo-geological sections are shown. DT, Drang Thrust; SRT, Salt Range Thrust; JMT, Jwalamukhi Thrust; MBT, Main Boundary Thrust; MCT, Main Central Thrust; MF, Muzaarabad Fault; ISZ, IndusTsangpo Suture Zone; MMT, Main Mantle Thrust; MFT, Main Frontal Thrust; MKT, Main Karakoram Thrust; RF/DS, Raikhot Fault/Diamer Shear; RCS, RupalChichi Shear Zone.

reactivation of the Muzaarabad faults, whereas earthquakes in the Kohistan arc cluster lying on the top of the Kohistan/Ladakh plutonic complex (magmatic arc) are yet to be assigned to any known seismogenic surface. The seismo-geological section XX/ (gure 5(a)) along the KashmirHazara and Kohistan arc has brought out the conguration of subducted Indian Plate beneath the Eurasian Plate and the accretionary Himalayan, Kohistan and Karakoram arc lithopackages overriding it. This also intersects the visible spatial seismic clusters of the KashmirHazara syntaxis and Kohistan arc. The MBT and MKT are the most active tectonic planes along this section line showing thrust and strike-slip movements, respectively. The HazaraKashmir cluster around traces of the MBT and the activated Muzaarabad fault has four fault plane solutions (Sl. No. 16, 17, 20 and 21, table 1). These solutions are remarkably alike, with high angle tension along the NWSE direction and low angle compression along the NESW direction. The fault plane solutions also indicate thrusting with subordinate strikeslip motion along a NWSE fault plane dipping moderately towards SW. The cluster with the epicentre of the Kashmir earthquake (Mw 7.7 of October 2005) and its aftershocks forms a NWSE elliptical cloud with isoseismal lines (Mahajan et al. 2006) oriented in the same direction, indicating a close faultthrust

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Figure 5. Seismo-geological sections across the western syntaxis. Position of section lines is marked in gure 4. Note the subducting Indian plates and overriding Eurasian plates in the sections to generate the imbricate structure. Note the out-of-sequence thrust in the Kohistan sector in section XX/. The thickening of the Indian Plate in sections (b) WW/ and (c) YY/ is noteworthy. The fault plane solution numbers of Table 1 are marked in bold letters; earthquake magnitude is annotated within brackets. NP Nanga Parbat.

interaction between the left lateral strike-slip Muzaarabad fault and the splays of MBT. The seismotectonics around this area in relation to the recent Kashmir earthquake will be elaborated in the discussion section. The spatial cluster in the Kohistan magmatic arc with two fault plane solutions (solutions 4 and 5 of gure 4) along the same section line (gure 5(a)) is tectonically signicant. We infer a hidden thrust plane (strike NWSE dipping moderately towards NE) to be responsible for generating the cluster. This out of sequence thrust or reactivation of an older thrust plane is seismically active today. However, existence of this active fault is not marked in the compiled regional tectonic map. This section also explains that basement (Indian Plate) and sedimentary cover (accretionary complex) participated equally to generate seismicity (thick-skinned tectonics). The seismicity is more pronounced along the detachment plane present in the plate interface.

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4.2.2 Nanga-Parbat syntaxis. The cluster of seismicity around the NangaParbat syntaxis (box in the middle of gure 3) manifests that earthquakes are generated here from the Indian Plate. The earthquakes are clustered more in the western part along the seismically highly active Raikhot fault and the Diamer shear zone rather than in the eastern part, where it shows diused seismicity. Seismically, the MMT is almost passive. Two sections (YY/ and WW/), one along the axial trace and the other along the prole section of the popup antiformal structure, are constructed (gure 5(b) and (c)) to dene the crustal structure of the Nanga-Parbat region. This zone has ve fault plane solutions (Sl. No. 6, 14, 15, 18 and 19 in table 1). Out of these ve solutions, 6 and 19 show strike-slip motions along the NS to NESW plane, whereas 14, 15, and 18 show normal fault movements along the NESW-trending moderately SE-dipping plane. The solution no. 6 at 103 km depth with a pure strike-slip solution along the NS plane with vertical dipping fault plane indicates a possible adjustment of the crust following rapid uplifting and mass owage. Furthermore, to compensate the rapid vertical uplift occurring in this zone, normal (gravity) faulting at shallow crustal level (*20 km) occurred as a part of crustal adjustment. Seismicity is dened by extremely active NNESSW-trending Raikhot fault and Diamir shear with strike-slip sense of movement in the western side (see the cluster in the western side of Nanga-Parbat in gure 3 as discussed), and a comparatively less active RupalChichi shear zone of NS trend towards the east (gure 4). The tensional axis is subhorizontal oriented in the NWSE direction, whereas the compressional axes vary in plunge and orientations. The thickening of the crust *75 km compared to the surrounding regions is worth mentioning. The fault plane solutions and concentration of earthquakes along the Raikhot fault support the hypothesis of upward-directed mass owage, uparching, rapid erosion by contemporaneous rivers and tectonic aneurysm of the Indian plate (Zeitler et al. 2001, Koons et al. 2002 and references therein). 4.2.3 Lesser Himalayas and Karakoram. The seismicity around the eastern side of the Western Himalayas (gure 3) has two seismic zones, one in the Lesser Himalayas towards the south in the Jhelum re-entrant and another along the Karakoram sector in the north. The section (ZZ/, gures 4 and 5(d)) along the Lesser Himalayan and Karakoram was drawn across the Himalaya, Ladakh and Karakoram arc to dene the tectonic movement along the eastern side of the western syntaxis in the Main HimalayaLadakhKarakoram arc segment. Along this line, all known tectonic planes are active and manifested by seismicity of various degrees. The Lesser Himalayan zone has three fault plane solutions (Sl. No. 2, 3 and 13). These solutions indicate thrusting along the plane striking NW SE dipping at low angle towards the NE. Solutions 2 and 3 point out southwesterly movement of the MFT, whereas solution 13 attests the movement along the MBT. The Karakoram sector along the section line towards the north has ve fault plane solutions (Sl. No. 7, 8, 9, 11 and 23). These solutions indicate the strike-slip movement of the crust along the EW to ESEWNW striking planes dipping at moderate to high angle on either side of the Karakoram and Altyn Tagh Faults. This zone, by and large, demonstrates strike-slip trans-tensional tectonism between the MKT and the Altyn Tagh Fault (ATF) in the Karakoram domain where litho-units experience arc-parallel mass owage towards the east (Seeber and Pecher 1998).

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The earthquake epicentres are plotted on a generalized seismo-geological map of the eastern syntaxis (gure 6), compiled from various published sources (Gopendra Kumar 1997, Dasgupta et al. 2000, Ding et al. 2001, Nandy 2001, Quanru et al. 2006). The map demarcates six distinctive tectono-geological provinces, namely (a) Brahmaputra Valley with folded and thrusted subcrop sediments of Assam Tertiaries by Naga and Disang thrusts in the south; (b) Mishmi belt tectonites in the east; (c) Trans Himalayan Tethyan sediments with ophiolites of ISZ, Andean-type gneiss and metamorphites (Gangdise pluton) in the north; (d) eastern Himalayan tectonites with MFT, MBT and MCT in the west; (e) a popup antiformal structure comprising folded and thrusted metamorphites with mobile high-grade rocks at the core (eastern syntaxis) near Namcha Barwa (Ding et al. 2001); and low-grade folded metamorphites and volcanic rocks of the Siang window in the middle. For seismotectonic appraisal, three tectonic domains are chosen for their unique tectonic characters and seismicity: Mishmi belt, Eastern Himalayan tectonites and eastern syntaxis. The Mishmi belt comprises NWSE trending high-grade rocks (Mishmi

Figure 6. Seismo-geological map of areas in and around the eastern syntaxis. General geology, earthquake with magnitude variation, tectonic planes and zones of earthquake clustering, location of fault plane solutions are shown. Beach ball diagrams from the data in table 2 are presented in the right panel. Section lines for seismo-geological sections are shown. MBT, Main Boundary Thrust; MCT, Main Central Thrust; ITS, IndusTsangpo Suture Zone; MFT, Main Frontal Thrust; SF, Siang Fracture; CT, Canyon Thrust; NLT, Namula Thrust; BTF, Bame Tuting Fault; NB, Namcha Barwa; D, Dibrugarh; DG, Dashing Gompa; N, Nijamghat; NL, North Lakhimpur.

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crystalline/Lohit Gneisses) in the frontal part; low-grade schist, serpentinite and limestone of Tidding Group in the middle; and Lohit GraniteGranodiorite terrain towards the northeast (Nandy 2001). The eastern Himalayan tectonites contain Siwalik molasse sediments in the south; lenses of Continental and Marine Gondwana, structurally overlain by sequences of carbonates, gneisses, orthoquartzites and low-grade schists with MBT in between; followed by patches of high-grade schists and gneisses of Central crystallines separated from earlier units by the MCT towards the north (Nandy 2001). The eastern Himalayan syntaxis comprises three major tectonic units: Gangdise magmatic belt (early Jurassic to Carboniferous metasedimentary and plutonic rocks), Namcha Barwa Group (Precambrian gneisses with lange high-pressure granulite lenses), and Yarlung Tsangpo shear zone (tectonic me zone with exotic blocks of Namcha Barwa Group and Gangdise Pluton, basic and ultramac rocks with ophiolite sheets) (Quanru et al. 2006). 5.2
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Seismo-geological sections

The earthquake epicentres and 17 well-constrained fault plane solutions compiled from published sources (table 2) are plotted on a compiled geological cum tectonic map (gure 6). The plot brings out three visible spatial zones: Mishmi, Namcha Barwa and Eastern Himalaya. These zones are analysed further by drawing seismogeological sections across them to unearth the crustal conguration. From the distribution of earthquake epicentres and geological cum tectonic understanding of the terrain, four seismo-geological sections have been drawn along three tectonic domains: RR/ along Mishmi Himalaya (gure 7(a)), SS/ and UU/ along the NamchaBarwa syntaxis (Figure 7(b) and (c)), and VV/ along the eastern Himalayan tectonites (Figure 7 (d)). 5.2.1 Mishmi. Earthquakes in Mishmi Himalaya along the zone between Pochu fault and Mishmi thrust (gure 5) are analysed. The seismogeological section (RR/) (gure 7(a)) denes the tectonic behaviour of two contrasting tectonogens of Mishmi Himalaya and rocks of the Eurasian/Tibetan Plate (Gangdise) fused together in an imbricate zone. The earthquakes are concentrated at the interface between them. Mishmi thrust acts as a oor thrust/detachment plane in this imbricate zone. The great Assam earthquake (M 8.7) of 1950 with focal depth of around 40 km occurred along the plate interface between the Indian and Eurasian Plates and has two contrasting fault plane solutions: strike-slip (Ben-Menahem et al. 1974) and thrust (Chen and Molnar 1977). From fault plane solution constructed from amplitude inversion and aided by geological evidences, Armijo et al. (1989) suggested that right lateral movement on the Po Qu fault (Po Chu fault) generated the Assam earthquake. They also suggested the possible connection of Assam Earthquake with the Sagaing right-lateral strike-slip fault further east in Burma. They further argued that a discontinuation of ophiolite in the syntaxis zone is the geological evidence of strike-slip movement on the faults that wrap around the syntaxis, and presently the strike-slip motion accommodates the plate movement. These evidences led us to believe that this great earthquake occurred by a strike-slip mechanism and may not be categorized as a thrust event along the plane of detachment. The crustal thickness estimated in this region ranges from 50 to 65 km (Holt and Wallace 1990) and the Assam earthquake occurred at the lower crust or at plane of detachment placed between crust and upper mantle. Further, the terrain

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Figure 7. Seismo-geological sections across the eastern syntaxis. Position of section lines is marked in gure 5. Note the imbricate structure generated by subducting Indian plates and overriding Eurasian plates in the sections. The thickening of the Indian Plate in sections (b) S S/ and (c) UU/ is noteworthy. The fault plane solution numbers of table 2 are marked in bold letters; earthquake magnitude annotated within brackets.

surrounding the study area towards east within eastern Tibet witness right lateral strike-slip motion on NS to NWSE trending fault planes. Contemporary GPS measurements carried out by the Geological Survey of India towards north of Lohit thrust demonstrate consistent movement vectors directing towards south (Dutta Gupta, T. 2010, personal communication). Buying this logic, a right lateral strikeslip mechanism of Assam earthquake is likely (gure 7(a)). The conclusion is further strengthened by the occurrences of two earthquakes with strike-slip solutions (solutions 8 and 9 of gure 6) at a later date (1983, 1984). These events occurred due to adjustment of lithosphere following the Great Assam Earthquake and also indicate right lateral strike-slip motion of the lithosphere north of Lohit Thrust. The seismic activity is concentrated in the frontal part only within the zones between Lohit and Mishmi thrusts, whereas the area east of them is characteristically aseismic. 5.2.2 NamchaBarwa syntaxis. Earthquakes in the NamchaBarwa syntaxis are mainly concentrated along two bounding strike slip fault planes, namely Siang Fracture and Yiemla fault (gure 6). The sections along the NamchaBarwa antiform

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(SS/ and UU/, gure 7(b) and (c)) demonstrated the relationship between uparching and thickening of the Indian Plate and seismic activity associated with the Namula and Canyon thrusts. The movement of these two active thrust planes is wellsupported by two strike-slip faults: Yiemla fault in the NW and Siang Fracture in the SE. The upward movement of this fault-bounded lithopackage contributes in uparching of the Indian Plate, formation of domal structure and thickening of the crust. The brittle crust is available up to a depth of 50 km where Moho (Mohorovicic Discontinuity) has been uparched (Ren and Shen 2008). Low P and S wave velocity patches in tomographic sections (Ren and Shen 2008) may be related to mass owage of mobile rocks and creation of small magmatic pockets by possible decompressional melting. Po Chu fault has two fault plane solutions (nos. 5 and 16; gures 6 and 7(b)). Solution No. 16 shows the right lateral strike-slip motion along this fault. From the study of fault plane solutions, it is dicult to ascertain the relationship between earthquakes and their causative fault planes. It is therefore prudent to outline the overall tectonism that operates in this part. Both thrust as well as strike-slip movements are operative in equal proportion. Bounding strike-slip faults like Yiemla and Siang Fractures are extremely active presently to generate bulk of the seismicity. The Canyon thrust marks the boundary between the Indian and Eurasian plates. 5.2.3 Eastern Himalaya. The earthquakes in eastern Himalayan tectonites are concentrated in the area between MFT and MCT (gure 6). The VV/ section (gure 7(d)) along Arunachal Himalaya illustrates an imbricate structure in the Himalayan collisional front. Earthquake occurrences are more prominent in the lesser Himalayan domain predominantly by thrust movements along the MBT, MFT and sympathetic thrust planes. There are four fault plane solutions, namely 2, 3, 4 and 13 (table 2; gures 5 and 6(d)). Fault plane solutions 2, 3 and 4 are associated with MBT and sympathetic thrust planes. The solutions show movement along thrust planes trending EW dipping *108 towards north. The thrust plane orientation changes to NESW with a higher dip of 268 directed towards NW (fault plane solution No. 13). MCT and ITS are aseismic in nature. This scenario changes further west (not in the study area) where NS trending strike-slip transverse faults instead of prominent Himalayan thrusts control the moderate level of seismicity (Mukhopadhyay 1984, Kayal et al. 1993). 6. Discussion

Augusto Gansser (1993), in his seminal lecture given at the 8th Himalaya Karakorum Tibet Workshop on the topic The Himalayas seen from Bhutan, narrated his understanding on the cause and disposition of the syntaxes as: The western (Kashmir) Himalayas are thrust from the NE with a particularly wide belt of Siwaliks. The overall encroachment of the border ranges on to the northwestern spur of the Indian plate is, however, considerably smaller compared to the very narrow northeastern spur of the Assam basin. For hundreds of kilometers the respective border ranges have overthrusted the narrow northeastern spur of the Indian plate, which at present seems to become more narrow and shallower at its E end. The East-Himalayan geology corroborates the great mobility of the border ranges dominated by large overthrusts on an apparently stable and xed Indian plate.

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The present authors feel the same way and made a comparison of seismotectonic behaviour in the areas around the western and eastern syntaxes. Despite its contrasting tectonic setting, the terminal ends of the Himalayas are characterized by a similar type of compressional tectonism and resulting popup antiformal structures. The Nanga-Parbat antiform in the western syntaxis and Namcha Barwa antiform in the eastern syntaxis are the structural and topographic expression of arc-parallel shortening at a rate of *12 mm/year that compensates for arc-parallel extension in Southern Tibet (Seeber and Pecher 1998). On the basis of the present study, 3D cartoons one along the western syntaxis (gure 8(a)) and another

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Figure 8. Schematic 3D cartoons for two syntaxes. (a) Western syntaxis (modied after Seeber and Pecher 1998). (b) Eastern syntaxis. Note the folding of the thrust planes in both the syntaxes. SRT, Salt Range Thrust; MMT, Main Mantle Thrust; JMT, Jwalamukhi Thrust; JF, Jhelum Fault; MBT, Main Boundary Thrust; MFT, Main Frontal Thrust; RF, Raikhot Fault; RCS, RupalChichi Shear; MKT, Main Karakoram Thrust; MF, Muzaarabad Fault; NP, Nanga Parbat; NB, Namcha Barwa; CT, Canyon Thrust; NLT, Namula Thrust; ITS, IndusTsangpo Suture; YF, Yiemla Fault; SF, Siang Fracture; MT, Mishmi Thrust; LT, Lohit Thrust.

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along the eastern syntaxis (gure 8(b)) have been drawn. The popup antiformal structures on both these syntaxial ends of the Himalayas have folded the thrust planes and resulted in shear zones on the anks. Seismically active bounding faults/ shear zones like Raikhot fault/Diamer Shear and RupalChichi shear in the western syntaxis and Yiemla Fault and Siang Fracture in the eastern syntaxis with primarily strike-slip movements have modied the existing foldthrust systems. The popup structures will be modied by erosion-controlled tectonic upliftment (tectonic aneurysm) along the bounded shear zones developed at the anks of these antiforms. The crustal structure of the western syntaxis is complex. Pegler and Das (1998) have determined the shape of the seismic zone in the PamirHindukush region (30 428 N; 68788 E) with relocated hypocentral data. The study pointed out that the seismic zone under the Hindukush follows the classical pattern of subducting slab controlled by gravity. The Pamir region follows the trend of contorted seismic zone slab deformation that indicates that the slab is deformed due to ow of the upper mantle. Such a structure is prominent in all our seismic sections (gure 5) drawn across the western syntaxis. Further, the occurrence of the Kashmir earthquake (Mw 7.7 of October 2005) has unfolded the seismogenic characters and stress release pattern of this region, particularly in the part of the KashmirHazara syntaxis. The Kashmir earthquake occurred in the IndusKohistan seismic zone accompanied by a rupture length of 75 km that cut across the KashmirHazara syntaxis and reactivated the Muzaarabad fault (Avouac et al. 2006) with a net-slip of 5.4 m along the fault strand (Kondo et al. 2008). Towards the north, the rupture coincides with the MBT and abruptly terminates at the hairpin turn of the MBT showing strong structural control. Focal depths of the aftershocks indicate that the seismic activity is conned to a narrow depth zone between 5 and 10 km. This distribution is indicative of extension of the IndusKohistan seismic zone in the HazaraKashmir syntaxial area and activation of more than one fault (MonaLisa 2009). The columb stress mapping indicates increase of stress in the northwest of the rupture along the trend of the IndusKohistan seismic zone (Parsons et al. 2006). A similar stress increase along the southeast of the rupture near Kashmir Basin indicates seismic vulnerability of the Kashmir basin, where faults participated in the large earthquakes of 1555 and 1885 (Bilham 2004). Similarly, along the Muzaarabad fault strand earthquakes that occurred during 500 and 2200 yr. B.P. were also identied (Kondo et al. 2008). These indicate the recurrence pattern of large earthquakes in this zone. Moreover, the high gravity value in the epicentral block indicates thrusting accompanied by mass movement of high-density rocks along the syntaxial bend of the MBT (Tiwari et al. 2009). The tectonic loading of the high-density Muzaarabad wedge thrust between the wedge top and the descending Indian lithosphere coupled with continued exure tectonics and block rotation provoked this earthquake (Khan et al. 2010). They also opined that the western limb of the buckled unit (containing both competent and incompetent rocks) of the KashmirHazara syntaxis gave rise to the development of new thrust and associated oblique slip in the inner arc of the competent rock unit spawned the earthquake. Thus formation and reactivation of new faults/thrusts in this region is common, spawning big earthquakes today and also in the historical past. Accordingly, the similarity of genesis between the Kangra earthquake of 1905 which occurred further east of the study area and the Kashmir earthquake of 2005 by reactivation of local fault planes are speculated (Hussain et al. 2009).

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The tectonic aneurysm (Zeitler et al. 2001) in the western syntaxis arises from the geodynamic interaction between localized erosion, topographic stresses, rock uplift, thermal weakening of lithosphere and deformation (Koons et al. 2002). In Nanga Parbat, the convected materials from the core of the massif undergo rapid upliftment and decompression as a result of rapid erosional exhumation. The extreme erosion is generated by the hyperactive Indus River that has generated deep-cut valleys around the syntaxis. The uparching and thickening of the Indian plate as shown in the section (gure 5(b)) further corroborated the results generated by the micro-seismic surveys conducted by Meltzer et al. (2001). They have also found a bow-like upward shape of seismicity following the antiformal arch at a shallow crustal level. The MT surveys (Park and Mackie 1997, 2000) conducted in this region have also pointed out a resistive zone at around 50 km depth below the massif, and another zone situated in top 1 km below the surface limit is quite conductive. Similarly, the zone around the Raikhot fault from the surface to a depth of 10 km is also conductive. The resistive zone has been interpreted as dehydrated zone with insucient interconnected uid phase, whereas the conductive zone is hydrated by percolating water from the top and possible pore pressure perturbations in interconnected uid zones. Seismic tomography conducted in this region has predicted a lower-velocity lozenge of crust extended at a depth below the core of the massif and indicates rapid exhumation, high thermal gradient, crustal uid ow and pockets of decompression melting, and subsequent generation of young metamorphic and igneous ages of the rocks (Meltzer et al. 2001, Zeitler et al. 2001, Zeitler and Chamberlain 2001). Zeitler and Chamberlain (2001) have also suggested that the present movement of Nanga Parbat massif is developed above a dry, hot and weak crust. Similarly, the Namcha Barwa massif in the eastern syntaxis also has dynamic interaction guided by local erosion by Tsangpo/Siang river, rock uplift, thermal weakening of lithosphere and deformation (Finnegan et al. 2008). This is similar to the dynamism of the Indian Plate to form uparch antiformal domal structure as has been noticed in the Nanga Parbat syntaxis. The thickening of the crust is also noteworthy in sections (gures 7(b) and (c)). The exhumation is caused by erosion along the Siang River with crustal scale folding at a rate of *10 mm/year (Burg et al. 1998). Tomographic surveys conducted by Ren and Shen (2008) have indicated low P and S wave velocity patches within the uplifted rocks of this syntaxis. These patches may be correlated with mass owage of mobile rocks and creation of small magmatic pockets by possible decompressional melting. Geological (Tapponnier et al. 2001) and geodetic studies (Zhang et al. 2004) indicate that the crustal block moves clockwise around the eastern syntaxis. This mass owage (crustal ow) is characterized by a reduced seismic velocity and elevated electrical conductivity. In eastern Tibet, magneto-telluric data imaged two major zones/channels of high electrical conductivity at a depth of 2040 km. This indicates high uid content in the mid crust. The uid could be derived from prograde metamorphism in a thickened crust or from under-plating. One of the conductors terminates near the Canyon thrust in the YarlungZangbo suture (also known as ITS), indicating a shear zone (Bai et al. 2010). This shearing in the eastern part of the Himalayas may be required to maintain regions with interconnected uid, lower the crustal strength and permit rapid deformation and mass owage. Crustal thickening and deformation along eastern margin mark the present-day tectonics of the Tibetan Plateau, except near the eastern syntaxis of the Himalaya, where rapid clockwise ow around the syntaxis, not rigid-body movement, occurs (Zhang et al. 2004).

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The seismicity maps and their correlation to crustal scale thrusts and faults for the western and eastern syntaxes are presented in this study. Zones of earthquake occurrences in dierent sectors were studied in maps and depth sections. These have brought out the imbricate nature of the plate boundaries where the sedimentary wedge and Eurasian plate override the subducted Indian plate according the known tectonic model of the Himalayas. The following inferences can be drawn from this study. (a) The earthquake cluster with epicentre of the Kashmir earthquake (Mw 7.7 of October 2005) and their aftershocks in the western syntaxis show a close faultthrust interaction between leftlateral strike-slip Muzaarabad fault and splays of MBT. (b) The spatial cluster in the Kohistan arc is related to a hidden out-of-sequence thrust or reactivation of an older thrust. (c) The seismicity in Nanga Parbat cluster is controlled by seismic activities related to the Raikhot fault and Diamir Shear with strike-slip sense of movement present in the western side of the antiform. The thickening of Indian plate in this zone is noteworthy. (d) The Kashmir earthquake (Mw 7.7 of October 2005) is spawned due to interaction of the MBT and the Muzaarabad fault. The tectonic loading, coupled with continued exure tectonics and block rotation, development of new thrust and associated oblique slip in the inner arc of the competent rock unit of KashmirHazara syntaxis provoked this earthquake (Khan et al. 2010). (e) The seismo-geological section along Mishmi Himalaya in the eastern syntaxis has brought out the imbricate nature of the Himalaya and Gangdise lithopackages with Mishmi thrust as a major plane of detachment. The Assam earthquake (Mw 8.7, 1950) occurred along the plate interface between the subducted Indian and overriding the Eurasian Plate by strike-slip mechanism. (f) The NamchaBarwa syntaxis indicates fault-bound upliftment of the Indian Plate to form a domal structure. The canyon thrust marks the boundary between the Indian and Eurasian plates. The upliftment is guided by mass owage, tectonic aneurysm and formation of magmatic pockets by possible decompressional melting. (g) The section along Arunachal Himalaya has brought out the imbricate structure of the Himalayan rocks with MBT being the active seismogenic surface at present. (h) Clockwise block rotation of Indian plates both in the western and eastern syntaxes are inferred. (i) The three-dimensional structures brought out by the present study have resulted in an understanding that the seismicity in the western and eastern syntaxes is primarily controlled by the strike-slip faults that present in the anks of the popup antiforms.

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Acknowledgements We express our thanks to Prof. R.P. Singh, Editor in Chief, for his thoughtful comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. We are grateful to the erudite anonymous reviewers whose suggestions have helped to improve the scientic content of the paper immensely.

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