A

Dissertation Report
On
ESTIMATION OF EARTQUAKE SOURCE PARAMETERS OF KINNAUR HIMALAYA
USING SESMIC DATA AND SPECTRAL ANALYSIS

Submitted in partial fulfilment of requirements for the award of the Degree of

MASTER OF SCIENCE (TECHNOLOGY)
IN
APPLIED GEOPHYSICS

Under the Supervision of

Dr. RBS Yadav
Assistant Professor
Department of Geophysics
Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra
Submitted By:
Keshvi
(Roll No. - 4080414, 6th Semester)

Department of Geophysics
Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra
(Session: 2022-2023)
 Certificate
This is to certify that Ms. Keshvi has completed her dissertation as a compulsory
activity in the course of completing her M.Sc. (Tech.) Applied Geophysics under
my supervision. Her dissertation work entitled “Estimation of Earthquake
Source Parameter of Kinnaur Himalaya using Seismic data and spectral
analysis” embodies the result of the work carried out during the period of the
dissertation. Her work is carefully reviewed and thus she is entitled to submit her
work in partial fulfilment for the award of the concerned degree for the session
2020-2023.
I wish her the best of fortune in her future endeavors.

Date:
Dr.RBSYadav
Place: Kurukshetra, Haryana Department of Geophysics,
Kurukshetra University,
Kurukshetra
 Candidate’s Declaration
I, Keshvi , Final year student in M.Sc. (Tech.) Applied Geophysics, Department
of Geophysics, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, hereby declare that this
dissertation work entitled “Estimation of Earthquake Source Parameter of
Kinnaur Himalaya using Seismic data and spectral analysis “ has been carried
out by me at Department of Geophysics Kurukshetra and Wadia Institute of
Himalayan Geology, Government of India, Dehradun. The literature described
herewith is an authentic inscription of my work. This dissertation is submitted for
the partial fulfilment of the degree of M.Sc. (Tech.) Applied Geophysics from the
Department of Geophysics, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, Haryana and
this work has not formed the basis for awarding any degree, diploma or other
similar title and recognition.

Date -
Place -
Kesh
vi
(Roll No: -4080414)
M.Sc. (Tech.) Applied Geophysics,
Department of Geophysics,
Kurukshetra University,
Kurukshetra
 Acknowledgements
I would like to thank all the esteemed scientists and proficient professionals who
have contributed to the successful completion of my dissertation work titled –
“Estimation of Earthquake Source Parameter of Kinnaur Himalaya using
Seismic data and spectral analysis “ at the wadia institute of himalyan geology
, dehradun. I am obliged and blessed to be given such a wonderful, once-in-a-
lifetime opportunity to work under the guidance and supervision of reputed
scientists during my dissertation.
I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Kalachand Sain, Director,
Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Government of India, Dehradun for
accepting me as a capable candidate to work in this domain.
I’d want to convey my heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Dinesh Kumar, Chairperson,
Department of Geophysics, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra for believing in
my calibre and approving the necessary documentation.
I would like to extend gratitude from the bottom of my heart to Dr. Naresh
Kumar, Scientist ‘E’, WIHG, Government of India, Dehradun, for his
indispensable guidance, support, and patience. It has been a delightful, fun, and
great learning experience to work under his supervision.
I am really thankful for the guidance and timely help given by Mr. Abhishek
Kumar Gupta, Research Associate in WIHG.
I would also like to thank my Supervisor, Dr. RBS Yadav, Department of
Geophysics, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra for making the necessary
arrangements for this dissertation work.
Time spent at the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology; Dehradun has been
delightful. From being my first formal office to bonding with amazing colleagues,
I’ll always carry memories of the time spent at WIHG deep in my heart.

Keshvi
 ABOUT THE INSTITUTE

Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun is an autonomous body

under Department Science & Technology (DST), Government of India.
The “WADIA INSTITUTE OF HIMALAYAN GEOLOGY”, is situated at
33, General Mahadeo Singh Road, and lies about 400 meters east of Ballupur
crossing on Chakrata road. It is being run of by Department of Science &
Technology of Government of India, and is devoted to carry basic research in
Himalayan Geology and its related fields. It was because of the initiatives of
Prof. D.N.Wadia, the former president of institute, that the Institute of
Himalayan Geology was established in 1968 and was renamed after the name of
Prof. Wadia, “WADIA INSTITUTE OF HIMALAYAN GEOLOGY”, in
1969 in his memory. From the last four decades the institute is continuously
dedicated to unravel the geological truths related to building of Himalayan with
the support of well-equipped laboratories and other infrastructural facilities to
carry out advance level of research work in the country. The institute, apart from
its research facilities, also has its own museum which takes us in millions of
years ago into the past of Himalayas. Institute has its own library, having a very
rich collection of books, reference works, seminars and conference proceeding
on various disciplines of science with special reference to Himalaya.
 Content
Certificate
Candidate’s Declaration
Acknowledgement
Content
Abstract
1. Introduction
1.1 A Natural History of earthquakes
1.2 Earthquakes: Basic of Seismology
1.3 Types of Earthquakes
1.4 Seismic Waves
1.5 Location of Earthquake
1.6 Earthquake Magnitude and Intensity
1.7 Earthquake Source Characterization
1.8 Foreshocks, Aftershocks and Swarm
1.9 Earthquakes Aftereffects

2. Earthquake location and source parameter estimation

2.1. Overview of SEISAN
2.2. Workflow of the SEISAN database
2.3. Commands for using EEV
2.4. Filtering and phase reading
2.5. Earthquake location
2.6. Magnitude

3. Geology and tectonics

4. Methodology
4.1 SEISAN
4.2 DIRECTORIES
4.3 THE DATABASE
4.4 CREATING DATABASE
4.5 LISTING THE EVENTS
4.6 CONVERTING A FILE TO SEISAN FILE AND THEN PLOTTING IT
4.7 REGISTERING AND MARKING THE EVENT
4.8 LOCATING THE EVENT
4.9 Spectral magnitude Mw for a local event

5. Result and Conclusion

References
 Abstract

In the present study, results are presented for the Mw 1.5 – 3.6 earthquake in the
Kinnaur region of the NW region of India. The source parameter like location,
magnitude, depth etc. The various events in the north-west Indian region, have been
estimated by using the SESIAN to understand the in- depth knowledge related to the
earthquake. A total of 75 local events happened in Kinnaur region of NW Himalayan
of Mw 1.5 - 3.6 are utilized for present work. The local earthquakes are obtained to
estimate the source parameters of NW Himalayan. Then by using the data of local
events the source spectra obtained from the Brune's Source Model. The obtained
source spectrum corrected for two term is compared with the theoretical source
spectrum based on the brune’s model .

The obtained results are also found in agreement with the geological and
geomorphological exposure of the studied region. The study therefore, provides
valuable insights into the seismic hazards in NW India as it helps in identifying
vulnerable areas and facilitates the planning, design and construction of new
structures which strengthen the pre-existing ones.

1
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

1.1 A NATURAL HISTORY OF EARTHQUAKES

By causing building collapses and related dangers including fire, landslides, and
tsunamis, earthquakes can result in a high number of fatalities among susceptible
populations. A lot of money might be lost as a result of earthquakes. They are
capable of causing extensive damage. Individuals that reside in earthquake-prone
areas have developed a range of coping mechanisms. For instance, neighborhood-
based volunteer fire departments have existed in Japan since the 1700s, and the
country's traditional architecture frequently makes use of light, flexible materials.
The Prime Minister ordered the first city master plan in Europe after a devastating
earthquake devastated Lisbon, Portugal, in 1755. Lisbon was rebuilt with mandatory
clearance between buildings to prevent the spread of fire, wide avenues and
maximum building heights (Mullin 1992). Thus, people have been learning
experientially and adapting their way of life to sudden release of seismic energy in
the Earth’s crust. However, it was only recently that contemporary approaches to
earthquake have taken shape. The twin disciplines of seismology and earthquake
engineering began to take their modern form after the 1906 San Francisco
earthquake. Engineering had grown in sophistication during the period of rapid
industrialization in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Seismology did not yet
know the precise cause of earthquakes, but it did have detailed knowledge of the
kinds of ground motions (accelerations) that manifested on the surface (Howell
1990). It was assumed that homes and other buildings were destroyed by earthquakes
because they were built to resist only the downward force of gravity, not lateral
shaking. In the late 1920s and early 1930s Japan and California codified in building
codes resistance to a horizontal (side-to-side) design force of ten percent of the force
of gravity. Engineered structures would have to be built to withstand a push from
any direction amounting to ten percent of the force of gravity. In 1967 a revolution
occurred in understanding of the geological causes of earthquakes. This was the
discovery of plate tectonics, following the general idea of continental drift put
forward by Alfred Wegener Fig 1.1. Previously it was believed that continents did
not move. However, the position of continents was, in fact, the result of slow drifting
in different directions over millions of years. The Earth’s outer layer, known as the
2
lithosphere, is like a puzzle of plates fitting together and moving away 288 from or
under each other at a rate of centimeters per year. About seventy-six percent of all
earthquakes are caused by relative motion (friction) between adjacent plates.
Nevertheless, there are also intra-plate earthquakes that take place far from the edges
(Stein and Mazzotti 2007). Examples of intra-place earthquakes include ones in
Kenya and as far south as Malawi and Mozambique in the region of the Great Rift
Valley, and the very large earthquakes associated with the New Madrid fault that
affected a large area surrounding the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers in the USA in
1811–12 (Gunn 2008: 90–94 EP3).

1.2 EARTHQUAKES: BASIC OF SEISMOLOGY

An earthquake is the shaking of the Earth’s surface due to the sudden release of
accumulated strain energy in the Earth’s crust and upper mantle. The shaking due to
earthquake scan cause a surface rupture, liquefaction, landslides, destruction of
buildings, bridges, dams, and other man-made structures. Therefore, it is considered
as one of the deadliest natural hazards that sometimes claims the highest causalities
and loss of lives and properties. Large earthquakes on the seafloor, when rock slabs
vertically move past each other suddenly, cause water body move up-and-down
resulting into the tsunami, which can be responsible for the devastation in the coastal
region. Seismologists record the ground vibrations during an earthquake with the
help of an instrument, called a seismograph. The record as a function of time is
known as a seismogram. The earthquake produces body waves (P and S waves) and
surface waves (e.g. Rayleigh and Love waves). The body waves can travel along a
variety of paths through core, mantle, and crust. The surface waves travel near the
surface of the earth. Although the surface wave velocity is slower than S-waves, they
can be much larger in amplitude and much more destructive compared to the body
waves. Seismologists extract a wealth of information from such seismic waves
regarding earthquake source, shallow and deep structures of the earth, seismicity,
and understanding several other subsurface processes. Several approaches have been
attempted for forecasting earthquakes on different time scales but with almost
negligible success in a short time period. However, the recent advancements in
digital technology are useful to obtain real-time warning to shut down the heavy
machinery and trains for reducing the destruction. Researches are being carried out
on resilient building construction based on reinforced measurements which is the
need of the hour to create earthquake-safe society. Earthquakes mostly occur in and
around the tectonic plate boundaries. Seismicity of over the past one century marks
the seismic belt to be denoted as interpolate zones. Source characterization of a
predominantly large magnitude earthquake assists to classify the plate boundaries.
Several numerical methods and computational simulations provide a new way to
3
deal with the investigation of subsurface structures and their relationship with the
generations of earthquakes.

1.3 TYPES OF EARTHQUAKES:

An earthquake can be classified mainly on the basis of its origin or cause. There are
three major types of earthquakes viz. Tectonic, Induced, and Volcanic earthquakes.
The earthquakes are also classified based on distance from the source of occurrence
to the epicenter (epicentral distance), earthquake size, and focal depth.
1.3.1 Classification based on origin or cause of an earthquake
The reservoir and explosive earthquakes are due to man-made activities while the
tectonic and volcanic earthquakes are natural. Testing and conducting a nuclear
explosion trigger the earthquake described as an explosive earthquake. The
detonation of nuclear weapons causes a big blast and therefore due to release of
energy takes place in the form of an earthquake.
1.3.1.1 TECTONIC EARTHQUAKES:
Earthquake is originated in the Earth’s subsurface stratum up to B700 km depth. The
uppermost part (100 km) of the earth with a variable thickness of rock slabs is known
as the tectonic plate. This is divided into many parts such as Indian and Eurasian
plates. The strata below the tectonic plate are in a molten state over which the
tectonic plates move resulting into the divergent (where plates move apart),
transform (plates slide past), and convergent (where plates collide) boundaries
places of earthquake occurrences. Tectonic earthquakes are the most common
earthquakes throughout the globe. The tectonic earthquake can be quantified based
on fault types at which the deformation is initiated and then the accumulated strain
is released in the form of earthquake e.g. (i) reverse/thrust, (ii) normal, and (iii)
strike-slip faults as discussed in section 6.0. Further division is the inter-plate and
intra-plate earthquake. Inter-plate earthquakes take place at the boundary of the
tectonic plates.

4
 Fig 1.1 – Major tectonic plates of the earth[1]

1.3.1.2 Induced Earthquake:

Some earthquakes are induced through human activity and hence known as an
induced earthquake. The most common example of an induced earthquake is the
Reservoir triggered or induced earthquake. Such earthquakes occur in conjunction
with the impoundment of water or rapid water level changes behind large dams
(Gupta and Rastogi, 1976). The phenomenon of earthquake occurrence may be the
gravitational imbalance due to the addition of water in the reservoir. The filling of
water in the reservoir enhances the amount of pressure in that area. The more likely
explanation for reservoir induced seismicity is the increase of pore pressure because
of the hydrostatic head of the reservoir. Also, annual/seasonal fluctuation of water
creates stress beneath the reservoir causing earthquake occurrence. These
earthquakes are not bigger in size but may cause considerable damage. The largest
reservoir induced earthquake is a magnitude 6.7 Koyna earthquake of 1967 occurred
in western India (Gupta and Rastogi, 1976). This earthquake took place due to the
Koyna dam after its construction and water filling for the first three years. This
earthquake caused a loss of about 200 human lives. The reservoir induced
earthquake was first observed with the filling of Lake Mead behind Hoover Dam
beginning in 1935 (Simpson, 1976).

5
 Fig:- 1.2 Induced Earthquake[2]

1.3.1.3 Volcanic Earthquake:

The earthquake triggered by the volcanic eruption is known as a volcanic
earthquake. These earthquakes are generally of small size and take place in the form
of swarm activity. The largest volcanic earthquake is the magnitude 5.5 Cascade
earthquake triggered by Mount St. Helens volcano in 1981. There are two types of
volcanic earthquakes: (i) volcanic tectonic earthquakes and (ii) long-period
earthquakes. Volcanic tectonic earthquakes are triggered due to the injection or
withdraw of magma particularly underneath the volcano. When the magma injected
into the surrounding rocks, the long period earthquakes occur.

Fig. 1.3: - Volcanic Earthquakes[3]

6
1.3.2 Classification based on Epicentral Distance
Earthquakes generate the seismic waves, which propagate in the spherical earth
medium. Body waves, primary wave (P-wave) and secondary wave (S-wave)
propagating with different velocities are used to describe the distance from the origin
of the earthquake. This distance from the observation point to the epicenter is known
as epicenter distance. Earthquake recorded at different epicenter distance has
variable characteristics and therefore is used for earthquake classification.
Earthquake within 500 km distance is the local earthquake having dominant high-
frequency waves. The earthquakes that occur within the epicentral distance from 500
to 1500 km are known as a regional earthquake. The earthquakes that occurred
beyond 1500 km epicentral distance are known as tele seismic earthquakes. Seismic
wave energy attenuated with the passage of time or distance from the source. The
loss of energy is proportional to the square of the frequency of the wave and
therefore, the high-frequency waves cannot propagate long distances.
1.3.3 Classification based on Size or Magnitude
Earthquake magnitude equivalent to the amount of seismic energy release is an
important parameter. Magnitude is measured from the maximum amplitude of the
particular seismic wave compensated with the epicenter distance or in some cases
the focal depth of the earthquake.
Earthquake is originated at sub-surface in the upper part of the earth. Density and
the frequency of the earthquake occurrence are variable in the depth section and
therefore the earthquake can be divided into three types. Classifications based on the
depth of occurrences are deep-focus earthquake, Inter-meditate focus earthquake,
and Shallow focus earthquake. Earthquakes occurring from surface to 70 km depth
are the shallow focus. Inter-mediate focus earthquakes are located between 70 to 300
km. Remaining earthquakes are deep focus which occurs up to B700 km depth.
Reported earthquake all over the world indicates a high density of shallow focus,
comparatively less number as intermediate and very less in number as deep focus.

7
1.4 Seismic Waves
Sudden movement at the focus or hypocenter of an earthquake put the surrounding
region into vibration causing generation and propagation of seismic waves. These
waves travel away from focus in all directions in three dimensions. These are mainly
categorized into two types as body waves and surface waves. Propagation of the
body wave takes place throughout the body of the Earth crossing different
discontinuities. Surface waves traveling along the Earth’s surface and creates the
most damage during an earthquake. Body waves are of two types described as the
P-wave and S-wave. P-wave, also known as a primary wave, is the fastest wave
recorded first on the seismograph. Particle motion in P-wave is longitudinal where
particles in the rock move back and forth in the same direction as the wave
propagates. S-wave, known as the secondary wave is the transverse or shear wave
which causes transverse vibration of the rock particles. Wave propagation through
rock material causes particle vibrations at the right angle to the direction of the
propagation of S-wave. The relative motion of the P- and S-waves is used to measure
the epicentral distance, and therefore, the information of three and more stations is
used to locate the location of the earthquake. These waves travel inside the Earth and
thus provide information to the interior of the Earth.
Surface waves, propagating along the surface of the Earth, are slower compared to
body waves and show the largest amplitudes on seismogram (Fig. 1.4). Vibration
due to these waves causes most of the destruction near the hypocentral region. These
waves are generated due to superposition and interference of body waves on the
surface of the earth. Movement of the rock particle due to surface wave is complex
and their amplitudes decrease with depth from the surface. These are also divided
mainly into two types, known as Rayleigh wave and Love wave. Rayleigh wave
moves rocks along the Earth’s surface in a backward rolling motion. The particles
have transverse vibration with movement perpendicular to wave direction, radial,
and also to the surface of the earth. Love wave is also transverse in nature in which
wave-particles vibrate in a side-to-side motion parallel to Earth’s surface. Rock
particle motion is parallel to the Earth’s surface and the right angle to the direction
of wave propagation. Movement by this wave is particularly devastating to the
building causing the highest destruction.
Surface waves in layers of the earth are dispersed having variable velocity as a
function of wave period (or frequency). It indicates that these waves are formed by
a combination of trains of waves, with different periods arriving at different times .
Arrival times, amplitudes, and phases for each period depending on the characteristic

8
of layers through which they travel. These dispersive characteristics are also used in
surface wave and ambient noise tomography to explore the structure of the earth.

Fig 1.4:- Particle motions during propagation of different seismic waves. (A) P-wave motion with
longitudinal propagation of compression and dilations; (B) S-wave motion with transverse particle
propagation; (C) Love wave with particles propagating orthogonal to the wave propagation direction and
parallel to earth surface; and ( D ) Rayleigh wave with elliptical retrograde motion in the vertical plane.[4]

1.5 Location of Earthquake

Strain energy is built up when the rocks are stressed with the ongoing tectonic plate
movement and the resultant deformation. The sudden movements along the fault
release this strain energy in the form of an earthquake. When the potential energy
stored in the rocks is released by the tectonic plate then the earth medium comes into
motion as propagating the energy from one point to another point due to waveform
movement. The origin point inside the earth where the motion starts is known as the
focus or hypocenter of the earthquake. A vertical point on the surface of the earth
above the focus is known as the epicenter of the earthquake (Fig 1.5).

Fig 1.5: - A Cartoon diagram to show propagation of P,S, and surface waves. The wave fronts are shown by circular
lines. Focus (Hypocenter) and Epicenter of the earthquake are shown by black stars and seismic station by the yellow
triangle.[5]

9
The seismic waves generated at the hypocenter or focus are propagated through earth
medium and recorded at the seismic stations. The ground vibrations with respect to
time (seismogram) are recorded in three mutually perpendicular components:
vertical, north-south, and east-west at a recording site. The amplitude and time of
arrival of different seismic waves are observed in 3-component digital waveform
data. The arrival times of different seismic phases recorded at different seismograph
stations surrounding an earthquake are the primary input for determining the
hypocentral parameters and magnitude. The hypocentral parameters include the
origin time of the earthquake, epicentral location (latitude, longitude), and focal
depth. At least three seismic stations are required to locate the earthquake.
Identification of P-wave (Primary) and S-wave (Secondary) on the seismogram is
required to locate an earthquake. The basic principle of earthquake location can be
understood with the help of a graphical method. The P-waves are about 1.73 (O3)
times faster than the S-wave and it appears first on the seismogram followed by S-
waves. Their arrival time difference observed in a seismogram provides an estimate
of the distance between the recording station and the epicenter provided velocities
are known. If the recording station is close to the epicenter, then the difference
between P and S wave arrival times will be less and accordingly larger difference
indicates the larger epicentral distance. The amount of time difference on the
seismogram, and also velocity-time charts indicate the distance of the location from
the earthquake epicenter. However, the location of the earthquake can not be fixed
based on the S-P time difference measured at one recording seismograph. If we draw
a circle considering epicentral distance as radius, the epicenter can be anywhere in
the circumference of the circle. To fix the location of the earthquake, it is essential
to record the earthquake by at least three stations. In such a case, we can draw three
circles considering epicentral distance as radius and the common intersecting point
provides the epicenter of the earthquake.
This is known as the triangulation method which is a simple but fundamental method
to locate the earthquake and calculate the epicenter distance. The recent
advancements of computational techniques made it possible to obtain precise
locations of earthquakes considering 2D and 3D velocity models. Sophisticated
algorithms e.g., Hypo71, Joint Hypocenter Determination (JHD), HypoDD, etc.
have been developed for precise estimation of locations.

10
Fig 1.6: - Pictorial depiction of basic principle of estimation of location an earthquake using earthquake data recorded
at three seismological stations. The epicenter of the earthquake and recording stations are shown by a red star and blue
triangle respectively. The circles are drawn considering stations as a center and station-source distance as a radius.
The common intersecting point of the three circles is shown as the epicenter of an earthquake. [6]

1.6 Earthquake Magnitude and Intensity

The strain energy release during an earthquake depends on the relative movements
along the fault. Since the regions around the earthquake hypocenter and the
propagation path are complex, it is difficult to express every detail of an earthquake.
It necessitates defining a single number to represent the amount of strain energy
release. Magnitude is one of the basic and important parameters to describe the size
of an earthquake in terms of the amount of energy released by an earthquake. The
intensity of an earthquake is a subjective measure of the force of an earthquake at a
particular place as determined by its effects, i.e. degree of damage; for example
number of collapsed houses, bridges, other man-made structures, loss of life, etc.
created by an earthquake at a particular place. The intensity depends not only upon
the strength of the earthquake (i.e. magnitude) but also upon the distance from the
earthquake to the point, local geology at that point, and depth of occurrence.
Intensity observations are, thus, subject to personal estimates and are limited by the
circumstances of reported effects (Cecic et al., 1996). Intensity varies from place to
place for the same earthquake. Therefore, it is desirable to have a scale for rating
earthquakes in terms of energy, independent of the effects produced in a particular
area.
1.6.1 Different Magnitude Scales
Various magnitude scales are developed depending upon a range of epicentral
distance, focal depth, wave types, wave periods, and rupture dimensions. This is
because the characteristics of the seismic waves to vary with these factors. These
magnitude scales provide significant information about earthquake source

11
parameters such as rupture dimension, fault length, wave energy, and seismic
moment. Also, the relations between different magnitude scales provide valuable
information about source types. Here we are discussing the common magnitude
scales that are frequently used in earthquakes seismology.
1.6.1.1 Local Richter Magnitude
During 1935, Charles F. Richter, for the first time, introduced the magnitude scale
to measure the size of an earthquake. This scale is known as the Richter magnitude
scale. It is based on the maximum amplitude of seismic waves recorded by the
Wood-Anderson seismograph. Since this particular seismograph properly records
seismic waves at local and regional distances therefore it is used to measure the size
of local earthquakes only. Since then, advancement in technology and processing
methods, concerning seismic instruments and interpretation techniques, have made
it possible to do measurement for all local, regional, and teleseismic distances.
The local Richter magnitude ML of an earthquake observed at a station is defined as
(Richter, 1935)
ML = logA - logAo (Δ)
Where A is the maximum amplitude in millimeters recorded on the Wood-
Anderson seismograph for an earthquake at an epicentral distance of Δ km, and A o
(Δ) is the maximum amplitude at Δ km for a standard earthquake. To define the
Richter scale, three arbitrary choices are made: (a) the use of standard Wood-
Anderson seismograph, (b) the use of common logarithms to the base 10, and (c)
selection of standard earthquake whose amplitudes as a function of distance are
represented by Ao (Δ). The zero level of Ao (Δ) can be fixed by selecting its value at
a particular distance. Richter chose the zero level of A o (Δ) to be 1 μm (or 0.001
mm) at a distance of 100 km from the earthquake epicenter. This magnitude scale is
valid for epicenter distance up to 600 km and magnitude 6.0. The graphical
procedure of estimating Local Richter Magnitude (Fig 1.6).
1.6.1.2 Body Wave Magnitude (mb)
Body wave magnitude (mb) is measured from the amplitude of the P-wave which is
not affected by the focal depth. Gutenberg (1945a) defined body-wave magnitude
mb for teleseismic body waves for P in the period range 0.512 s:
mb = log (A/ T) - f (Δ,h)
Where, A/T is the amplitude-to-period ratio in micrometers per second, and f
(Δ, h) is a calibration function of epicentral distance Δ in degree and focal depth h
in kilometer. The largest amplitude is taken within the first few cycles of P-wave
train recorded mostly in a vertical component seismogram.
12
1.6.1.3 Surface Wave Magnitude (Ms)
The surface wave magnitude (Ms) is obtained from surface waves of an earthquake.
Gutenberg (1945b) defined the surface wave magnitude Ms as:
Ms = logAHmax - logAo (Δ0)
Where AHmax is the maximum combined horizontal ground amplitude in
micrometers for surface waves with a period (T) of 20 + 2 seconds, and (-logAo) is
a calibration function that is tabulated as a function of epicentral distance Δ in
degrees similarly to that for local magnitude (Richter, 1935).

Fig 1.7: - Estimating the Richter magnitude (ML) of a local earthquake. A graphical procedure for estimating the
magnitude based on the epicenter distance (or S-P time difference) and the maximum amplitude recorded at Wood-
Anderson seismograph.[7]

That is tabulated as a function of epicentral distance Δ in degrees similarly to that for local magnitude.

1.6.1.4 Seismic Moment Magnitude

The physical mechanism of earthquake occurrence in its hypocenter zone is
specified by sudden displacement of discontinuity or dislocation along a fault
plane. It is the relative movement of the strata along a fault plane as rupture
propagates. It defines a physical dynamic fault model where slip on the fault is a
function of space and time. Haskell (1964) introduced a dislocation model where
suddenly at time t = 0 dislocation of width W propagates along the fault length L of
the fault to rupture an area A = L × W. Fault area A slips a distance d against
rigidity μ of the earth medium to cause seismic rupture. Measurement of relative
movement or the sudden displacement can be described by the seismic moment as
given in Equation below.

13
 Mo = μ × A × d
or
Mo = μLWd

Haskell’s model is simple which is used extensively to invert the seismic source
parameters from far-field and near-field seismic data. Haskell (1964) and Madariga
(1978) noted that this model fails at high frequencies because of stress singularities.
However, it can be improved by tapering the slip discontinuity near the edges of the
fault.
Quantification of earthquake source parameters has been improved based on the
kinetic model for the seismic data evaluation. At wavelengths much longer than the
size of the rupturing fault, a reasonable approximation of the seismic rupture, is
obtained from the displacement spectrum at low frequencies seismic data.

1.6.2 Intensity
The measurement of the earthquake size was first started from the amount of damage
and destruction takes place during an earthquake. Generally, the evaluation of the
intensity of an earthquake is the assessment of its impacts on the destruction and
damage. However, in fact, the damage varies on the observation point from the
epicenter of the earthquake which also depends on many other subjective factors
based on the strata and focal depth. Juzeppe Mercalli, the Italian scientist first time
in 1902, characterizes the earthquake into 12 points which were based on the variable
intensity of an earthquake at different points. This was modified by Q. Vud and F.
Nyumen in 1931 and later on by Richter in 1956. This modified scale is now known
as the Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) scale. Later in 1964, the European and
Soviet Union developed 12 points which are now known as the European Macro
seismic (EMS) scale. These scales are given as below

1.7 Earthquake Source Characterization

A tectonic earthquake source is usually characterized by the type of faulting,
geometry of fault associated with the earthquake, and rupture dimension of a fault.
The style of faulting is an indicator of rock deformation and reflects the type of force
pushing or pulling on the region. It reflects the relative size of the vertical to the
horizontal forces. The geometry of the fault and its 3D beachballs presentation are
described below in this section (Fig 1.7).

14
 1.7.1 Fault Geometry
Fault geometry is usually described as a planner surface across which the relative
motion of rock mass occurred during an earthquake. This assumption is considered
to simplify the computational methods; however, a real fault may have complicated
geometry. The fault geometry indicates the fault plane and the direction of the slip
along the plane. Fig. shows that a fault plane with a normal vector 𝑛̂ separates the
footwall from the hanging wall (not shown). The motion of the hanging wall block
with respect to the footwall block is described by a slip vector, 𝑑̂. The coordinate
axes X3 is vertical, X1 and X2 are horizontal axes, and all the axes are mutually
perpendicular to each other.
Two angular parameters are required to describe the orientation of the fault plane,
(i) strike of the fault, φ i.e., the azimuth of the fault’s projection onto the surface
measured from the north and (ii) the dip of the fault, δ i.e., the angle measured
downward from the surface to the fault plane in the vertical plane perpendicular to
the strike. The actual motion of the two blocks of rocks on either side of the fault is
defined by the slip vector ( 𝑑̂). The direction of the slip vector is given by angle of
slip or rake (λ), measured in the plane of the fault from the strike direction to the slip
vector showing the motion of hanging wall relative to the footwall. If a fault is
considered as rectangular, the dimension along the strike is called the fault length
and the dimension in the dip direction is known as the fault width.
1.7.2 Rupture dimension
Earthquake occurrence takes place in the form of sudden displacement in a weak
zone which initiates and causes a rupture either along the already existing or newly
formed tectonic fault. Rupture is the resultant of a steady buildup of the stress across
two parts of the fault due to tectonic movement. The present-day Global Positioning
System (GPS) successfully describes a continuous movement of the earth’s surface.
This movement in the form of surface deformation is variable and mainly depends
on the position of the measurement point of the tectonic plate. Therefore, the rupture
dimension is the approximation of the area of deformation on the plane of
tectonicfault.
X3 N
Epicenter
ψ θ Strike direction
φ X1
V
X2 Receiver
T
R Fig 1.8: - Fault geometry used in earthquake studies. A: area affected
on the fault plane. Source: After Hazarika, D., 2006. Attenuation of
Coda Wave and Waveform Analysis for North-Eastern Region of
δ nˆ λ A
dˆ India with Special Emphasis on Seismotectonics of Chedrang Valley,
The Rupture area of 1897 (M 5 8.7), Great Assam [8]
Source Fault
plane
15
1.7.3 Types of Faulting
Faults can be classified based on relative motions of two rock masses on either side
of the fault as well as based on relative forces acting on the rock masses. There are
three basic types of faulting i.e., reverse/thrust fault, normal fault, and strike-slip
fault.
1.7.3.1 Reverse/Thrust Fault
Reverse/thrust fault results from horizontal compressional forces caused by a
shortening, or contraction, of Earth’s crust. In case of reverse fault one side of the
fault, the hanging wall moves up over the foot-wall. The movements of the hanging
and footwall are shown in Fig. The reverse fault with gently inclined fault planes
(dip angle <45o) is referred to as the thrust fault. If the dip angle of the fault plane is
low (often less than 15 degrees from the horizontal) and the displacement of
overlying rock is large then the fault is called an overthrust fault. In the case of
reverse/thrust fault, the vertical force is smaller compared to the horizontal
compressive forces (Fig 1.8).

Fig 1.9: - Normal and Reverse Fault Depiction.[9]

1.7.3.2 Normal Fault

The normal faults are generated when the parts across the fault are pulled apart. Two
thick arrows, pointing away from each other indicates the direction of extensional
forces causing the formation of a normal fault. This deformation causes a downward
movement of the hanging wall relative to the footwall. The vertical force is the
largest for normal faulting. Normal faulting usually represents extension tectonics.
1.7.3.3 Strike-slip Fault
When the two blocks across the fault move laterally or sideways slip then it is
described as the strike-slip fault. Strike-slip faults with left-lateral motion are also
known as sinistral faults whereas those with right-lateral motion as a dextral strike-
slip fault. In the case of a strike-slip fault, the vertical force is intermediate(Fig 1.9).

16
 Fig 1.10: - Strike-slip Fault[10]

1.7.3.4 Oblique Fault

When the two blocks across the fault have simultaneous movement in two directions
then it is described as the oblique fault. This movement is a combination of pure
normal or reverse fault with the strike-slip component. The overall movement across
the fault is due to the resultant force of two movements. The description of the
oblique fault with the normal component and that of reverse fault is in Figure in
section 1.7.3.1.

Figure 1.11: - Oblique Slip[11]

1.7.4 Beach Ball Presentation

The focal mechanism of an earthquake describes the direction of slip in an
earthquake and the orientation of the fault on which it occurs. Seismologists use
information from seismograms to calculate the focal mechanism and usually display
it on maps as a “beach ball” symbol. Beach ball is the projection on a horizontal
plane of the lower half of an imaginary, spherical shell described as the focal sphere
surrounding an earthquake source. It is a 2-D presentation of a 3-D feature of fault
deformation. In this 3D presentation, a plane is denoted by a line and a point
represents a line. The pressure and tension axis at the time of rupture is also
presented in the beach ball presentation as shown in Figure. In this diagram, the red
quadrants contain the tension axis (T), which reflects the minimum compressive
stress direction, and the white quadrants contain the pressure axis (P), which reflects
the maximum compressive stress direction (Fig. 1.10).

17
Fig 1.10: - Cartoon diagram showing a reverse/thrust fault. Reverse/thrust fault results from horizontal compressional
forces caused by a shortening, or contraction, of Earth’s crust. The hanging wall moves up and over the footwall. The
arrows indicate the direction of the compressional force. [10]

1.8 Foreshocks, Aftershocks and Swarm

The earthquake generation is a complex process and one earthquake cannot be
considered as an isolated event. The major and great earthquakes are sometimes
preceded by a comparatively smaller magnitude earthquakes, known as foreshocks.
Moreover, in almost all cases, there are many smaller magnitude earthquakes after
the occurrence of a major or great earthquake, known as the aftershocks. The
foreshocks and aftershocks mostly occur in the epicentral zone associated with the
same fault system of the mainshock. On the other hand, there are a series of small
magnitude earthquake occur for a certain duration recorded in certain localities
without any relationship with any main earthquake event. Such earthquakes are
known as earthquake swarms.

18
Foreshocks are reported for many large earthquakes in various parts of the world
(Jones and Molnar, 1979) and can be used for earthquake precursory research. It is
sometimes difficult to identify foreshock from normal background seismicity of a
tectonically active region. However, based on locations and mechanisms of
earthquakes, foreshocks can be identified. Usually, foreshocks occur in the
epicentral region of the mainshock. The sizes of foreshocks are less than the
mainshock. About 70% of earthquakes of M $ 7.0 is preceded by foreshock activities
(Kayal, 2008). However, sometimes foreshock activities are not reported even
before the major earthquakes e.g., the 1950 great Assam earthquake (M 8.7) of the
Himalaya. The temporal distribution of the foreshocks is variable. The foreshock
sequence is classified into two types (Mogi, 1985). In one sequence, earthquake
occurrence increases gradually while in other the foreshock activity dies towards the
occurrence of the mainshock.
are frequently reported after the occurrence of a sizable earthquake. The maximum
size of the aftershock earthquakes is less than the mainshock by about one magnitude
unit. The hypocenter distribution of the aftershocks nearly represents the rupture
extent of the fault plane ruptured during the occurrence of mainshock. Duration of
the aftershock sequence is longer for the large mainshock so that aftershocks can
continue over a period of weeks, months, and years. Larger is the size of the main
event, the aftershocks earthquake has a larger size, more frequent, and the number
of aftershocks and longer the sequence. The seismicity observed for a long period
follows magnitude-frequency distribution power-law (Gutenberg and Richter, 1944)
which is not valid for aftershock activity. In this, the sequence of earthquakes follows
a different power-law in the number of aftershocks, N(t) 5 (t0 1 t)2p as a function of
lapse time ‘t’ after the mainshock (Utsu, 1961; Utsu et al., 1995). Here, t 0 and p are
the constants. Earthquakes generally follows the Poisson distribution which is
disturbed by aftershock sequence (Gardner and Knopoff, 1974).
Swarm is the most common localized phenomenon with no relation with any
mainshock (Mogi, 1963; Scholz et al., 1973; Barros et al., 2020). The spatial extent
of the swarm is much larger than the rupture length of its largest earthquake. It can
be distinguished from the foreshock and aftershock sequences as it is not associated
with a mainshock. Swarm activity is related with the volcanic, geothermal and also
the tectonic activities by slow and aseismic slips on creeping faults such as major
and local tectonics of Himalaya (Evison and Rhoades, 1998; Singh et al., 2018).
Swarm activity has been reported in the volcanic region, subduction/thrust zones,
transform plate boundaries (Barros et al., 2020; Heinicke et al., 2019). However,
occasionally, it is also related to large and damaging events such as a swarm-like
earthquake activity that was observed before the occurrence of Mw 6.3 l’Aquila,

19
Italy earthquake of 2009 (Barros et al., 2020). This swarm activity is interpreted with
a slow-slip seismic event.
Earthquake takes place in the zones which are seismically active. However, the
occurrence is not a continuance process but there are patterns. Gutenberg-Richter
relation suggests a general trend based on the number of earthquakes and
magnitudes. It indicates that different regions have defined recurrence intervals for
a particular magnitude earthquake. Light and higher magnitude earthquakes have
approximate recurrence interval which followed by frequent seismicity of smaller
magnitude earthquakes. In a few cases, it is also preceded by small-magnitude
earthquakes. Sometimes, many similar magnitude earthquakes take place within a
small interval of time. Therefore, the general trend of Gutenberg-Richter relation
also deviates and the earthquake occurrence has complex behavior. These different
patterns are defined by foreshocks, aftershocks, and swarm activity.

1.9 Earthquakes Aftereffects

1.9.1 Ground Rupture
Earthquakes not only destroy the man-made structures but also affect the ground.
Ground rupture occurs when the earthquake movement along a fault breaks the
Earth’s surface. Sometimes such ruptures are visible on the surface of the earth. In
some cases, earthquakes occur due to hidden fault, and surface expression of the
fault rupture may not be visible on the surface. The earthquakes affect the ground in
the different form e.g., regional warping, faulting, development of scarps, offsets,
fissures, cracks, changes in elevation or depression, changes in coastline, etc. The
geographical extent of such post-earthquake effects can be as large as thousands of
kilometers. The large effects of earthquakes on the ground are sometimes preserved
in the geologic record which can be unzipped with the help of paleo-seismological
studies.
1.9.2 Liquefaction
Liquefaction is one of the significant secondary effects of an earthquake. The
earthquake shaking reduces the strength and stiffness of soil causing liquefaction.
Liquefaction is often seen in alluvial deposits. Even the solid sand formation, when
saturated with water, can transform into a state of suspension owing to the earth’s
vibration during an earthquake. Liquefaction can cause the total collapse of man-
made structures. This phenomenon is responsible for tremendous amounts of
damage in historical earthquakes around the world.

20
1.9.3 Landslide
Landslide is frequently triggered by strong ground motions. The micro-earthquake
activity can also trigger landslides. It is a significant secondary effect of an
earthquake that creates a hazard by destroying buildings, other man-made structures,
and roads. Landslides are observed in the form of earth slumps, earth flows, earth
avalanches, etc. If slope material is saturated with water, then during an earthquake
it can develop a debris flow or mudflow. The volume of instability can sometimes
reach several million m3 causing huge damage to structures and loss of lives.
1.9.4 Tsunami
Tsunami is a series of long giant waves in the water body of the ocean caused by the
displacement of a large volume of water due to earthquakes or volcanic eruptions at
the ocean bottom. The tsunami waves do not dramatically increase in height at the
origin but as the waves travel towards inland, they build up higher and higher heights
as the depth of ocean decreases. The large height of the tsunamis crashes down upon
the shore with disastrous effects. The speed of tsunami waves depends on ocean
depth rather than the distance from the source of the wave. Most of the tsunamis are
originated by fault rupture long a submerged fault in the ocean. The most significant
example of a devastating tsunami is in the Indian Ocean, which was generated due
to the megathrust Sumatra earthquake of December 26, 2004 (M 9.3). This
earthquake caused about B1300 km long rupture from Sumatra to North Andaman
killing about 300,000 people in the coastal areas of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand,
and Indian parts of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

21
Chapter-2
Earthquake Location and Source Parameter Estimation

2.1. Overview of SEISAN

The SEISAN is a seismic analysis software developed by Lars Ottemoller, Peter
Voss and Jens Havskov. It contains a set of programs and basic training data. The
Programs are, mostly written in FORTRAN, for analyzing earthquakes, capable of
performing routine processing of all kinds of seismic data, like digital, analogue,
broadband, teleseismic or local earthquake data. SEISAN allows to enter phase
readings manually or pick them with a cursor, locate events, edit events, determine
spectral parameters, seismic moment, azimuth of arrival from 3-component stations,
plot epicentres, etc. Almost all source codes are also given to let the user be able to
fix bugs and make modifications.
One of the important goals of SEISAN is to be able to store and retrieve all data in
a single system so that when any analysis like spectral analysis requires parameters
like a hypocentre and an attenuation function, it should be automatically available if
obtained earlier or already given in a parameter file. This is achieved by having an
event-oriented database that stores all data chronologically. The foremost step to
begin with SEISAN is to get familiar with and understand different types of
databases and how to manipulate data in them.
A database is an organized collection of data stored in form of multiple datasets,
while any dataset is a structured assemblage of data generally associated with a
unique system of work. In the SEISAN system, each data set consists of various
types of files, like S-files, waveform files, calibration files and parameter files.
2.2. Workflow of the SEISAN Database
The whole SEISAN system is located in various subdirectories in a tree-like
structure as shown in fig. 2.1, all of which the user has access to, under the main
directory SEISMO. The smallest data unit in the system is a file containing original
phase readings, like arrival times, amplitude, period, back azimuth, and apparent
velocity for one event. The name of that file is the key to all information about that
event in the database and is known as the event ID (Fig 2.1).

22
 Figure 2.1: The SEISAN directories and associated parameter file[11]

2.2.1. WOR Directory

The training data consists of data sets from different regions and networks, which
require different parameter files so each data set is collected in one separate directory
under WOR. It is the user’s work directory which is initially empty and built with
the intention to work with the data in a local database.
2.2.2. REA Directory
REA directory acts as a database where all the information for the registered and
located events is kept. When new data is registered in the SEISAN database, a single
event file or S-file is generated for each single waveform file. Each S-file contains
phase readings and derived source information like hypocenters, fault plane
solutions etc. in the Nordic format. Fig. 2.2 depicts key components of an S-file.

Figure 2.2: S-file in Nordic format depicting key components[12]

23
Line type 1 (Header Line): Date, Origin time, Location (lat, long), Depth,
Magnitude, Agency name(s), etc.
Line type I (ID Line): Event ID (unique for each event), Status (last action on the
file), etc.
Line type 6: Names of the associated waveform files
Line type 3 (Comment Line): Comments from the user (if any)
Line type 7: Header line for the phase lines; lines next to line 7 are the phase
lines (One line = one phase reading.)
Interactive work with the S-files in the database is performed with the program
EEV. This program enables users to access and do interactive work with any
registered event in the database, like phase picking, spectral analysis, etc.
Alternative programs like MULPLT are also available, however, EEV is the
fastest.
2.2.3. Waveform Data and WAV Directory
Various waveform data formats, like SEED, MINISEED, SEISAN, SAC ASCII,
SAC binary and GSE format are read by SEISAN. Accessing waveform data in
another format must first be converted to the formats listed. Conversion can be made
using SEISAN or other programs.
All digital waveform data is contained in the WAV directory. The directory, by
default, has no sub-directories which is adequate for a small part of the waveform
data corresponding to the entries in the REA database. However, for more significant
amounts of data WAV can also be subdivided similarly to the REA directory using
the MAKEREA command. Interactive programs like EEV always look for
waveform files first in the user’s own directory under WOR and then in WAV.
2.2.4. Calibration Data and CAL Directory
Response files or calibration files for each channel of the digital data are also
provided with the waveform data. These calibration files contain instrument
responses including poles and zeros of the recording instrument. Response files are
normally stored in the CAL directory, however, in SEISAN versions higher than 8.2,
they can also be stored in the working directory.
2.2.5. DAT Directory and Parameter Files
The DAT directory contains station files and program parameter files. Parameters
used for spectral analysis, map contours, etc. are all stored in parameter files.
Changes are made to the files in this directory occasionally only when a new crustal

24
model is to be used or new stations are to be added. In such cases, the file modified
is STATION0.HYP file. It contains the list of stations with station codes, locations
and elevations. At the end of the STATION0.HYP file, crustal velocity model,
VP/VS ratio, initial depth for iteration, etc. are available. This information is very
important to locate the events and also to estimate the depth of the earthquakes.
2.3. Commands for Interacting with the Database using EEV
For interacting with the database, the EEV program is used. The most useful
commands for interactive work using EEV are given below:
• DATABASE_NAME > point at an event on a particular date
• Enter > go to next event
• b > move back one event
• 3 > move to event #3
• d23 > move to the first event on the 23rd or later
• t > type the event (S-file) to see the parameters for the event
• tt > ------ only header line
• e > edit single event file
• l > locate event
• po > plots the complete waveform data available of the selected event
• p > plots the selected file(s) of waveform data of the selected event
• u > update
• d > delete event
• r > change the event type (Local, Regional, or Distant)
• w > displays the associated waveform file names and their complete path
• onotepad print.out > details of the location
• GMAP > plots epicentres using Google Earth
Commands are not case sensitive in Windows, which means., all the commands can
be entered in uppercase or lowercase. However, in UNIX, all the commands must
be given in lowercase only.

2.4. Filtering and Phase Reading

Filters can significantly affect the waveforms and phase picking. This effect can be
clearly seen while assigning the polarity to first arrivals. Filtering the waveform once
leads to phase shift which results in an error in the arrival times of the picked phases
as well as in the polarity of the first arrival. Thus, it is suggested to pick phases on
unfiltered traces.
25
SEISAN can filter the waveform in two following ways:
1. By pressing the filter key once (results in phase shift)
2. By pressing the filter key twice (no phase shift occurs)
However, in some cases, the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N ratio) is relatively small due
to which the arrival can not be seen without filtering. If the upper limit of a filter is
higher than or equal to half the sampling rate, it leads to aliasing and information
loss, no filtering is done and an error message is displayed.

2.5. Earthquake Location

Source location can be determined in two ways:
1. Single Station Location
2. Three Station Location (Triangulation Method)
2.5.1. Single Station Location
To locate the source using a single station, good three component data is required
with a correlation coefficient positive and as close to unity as possible. The depth is
anyhow fixed and is defined at the beginning of the very next line to the crustal
velocity model in STATION0.HYP file.
Following are the steps to locate a source using single station data in three
components,
1. Pick P and S phases by plotting all three components of the selected station.
The p phase should always be picked on the Z component and the S phase on
either of the horizontal components.
2. After picking the phases, plot the Z component of the station in single trace
mode.
3. On clicking the ‘Azim’ option from the menu or pressing the ‘h’ key on the
keyboard, SEISAN will ask to select a window for a 3 component
plot. The window picked affects the correlation coefficient, and is to be one
to two seconds long around the P phase to include only the first arrival.
4. If the correlation coefficient is positive and close to 1, the ‘e’ key is pressed
with the cursor on the Z component. This marks a pick with an ‘E’ written
over it.
5. Finally, the single trace mode is plotted on the screen by pressing ‘t’. The
event is then located by either clicking on the ‘Locate’ option in the menu or
26
 by pressing the ‘l’ key (lowercase L) on the keyboard. The results are
displayed on the screen.
2.5.2. Three Station Location (Triangulation Method)
To enhance location accuracy, multiple stations are picked (here are three). Then P
and S arrival times for one station and their average crustal velocity for the region

are noted. The distance of the source from the station can be calculated using the
following equation,
On calculation, the above equations give:

Here, ts, vs: S-phase arrival time (sec) and S-wave velocity (km/sec).
tp, vp: P-phase arrival time (sec) and P-wave velocity (km/sec).
𝚫: Epicentral distance (km)
Considering recording station as the centre, infinite number of points are available
in all directions at the calculated epicentral distance plotting which will form a circle.
Similarly, a second circle can be obtained for the second station. Ideally, these two
circles shall intersect at a single point but due to the presence of some inherent noise,
slight errors arise during phase picking. Due to these errors, instead of a single
intersection point, a common region is obtained as shown in (Fig. 2.3).

Figure 2.3: Illustration of a) Single station, b) Two stations and c) Three stations for locating earthquake[13]

Steps used in SEISAN for locating the earthquake:

27
 1. Plot three stations with minimal noise and clear phases in multitrace mode
(fig. 2.4)

Figure 2.4: Three stations Guwahati (GUWA), Tawang (TAWA), and Tezpur (TEZP) plotted in
multitrace mode[14]
2. P and S phases on all three stations are picked. This can be done in either
single trace mode or in multi-trace mode.
3. ‘Locate’ option from the Menu or ‘l’ key (lowercase L) on the keyboard is
selected to obtain results in the cmd as shown in (Fig.2.5).

Figure 2.5: - Result for locating Earthquake.[15]

Note: Residues are dependent on the crustal velocity model used for the considered
region. In case the velocity model used is not satisfactorily accurate for the region,
28
larger residues may arise. These residues reflect the difference between crustal
velocities and the used model. Studies are conducted to determine the velocity model
of the considered area using the arrival time inversion technique. However, for just
locating the earthquake source if picked phases are accurate, much attention is not
paid to the residues.

2.6. Magnitude
Magnitude is a value that quantifies the size of an earthquake. It is calculated based
on the maximum motion recorded by a seismograph. Various magnitude scales are
used in the field of earthquake science including a) Local Magnitude Scale M L
(commonly known as the Richter Magnitude Scale), b) Body-wave Magnitude Scale
Mb, c) Surface-wave Magnitude Scale MS and d) Moment Magnitude Scale MW.
Here, two different types of magnitudes, that is local and moment magnitude, are
used to compare for accuracy of the signal. However, the reason behind the similarity
in magnitudes is the lower magnitude of selected earthquakes (2 < M L < 6). This is
because the local magnitude scale tends to saturate for larger earthquakes
(Magnitude > 7). If the results are compared for such large earthquakes, the results
will show a significant difference.
2.6.1. Local (or Richter) Magnitude, ML
According to Richter (1935), the classical formula for determining the local
magnitude ML is,
ML = log10Amax - log10 AO
Here, Amax is the zero-to-peak trace amplitude in a Wood-Anderson seismogram, -
log10Ao is a calibration factor and is a function of epicentral distance Δ (table 2.2)
and Ao are the trace amplitudes in mm recorded by a Wood Anderson Standard
Torsion Seismometer from an earthquake of ML = 0
Table 2.2: Values of - log10AO as a function of epicentral dist. for ML given by C.F. Richter (1958)

In SEISAN, local magnitude (ML) is calculated as follows,

29
 1. As magnitude readings are always taken on the Z component of the
seismogram, firstly the Z component of any station is plotted in single trace
mode.
2. Filters are used to minimise the noise. By selecting ‘WA’ from the Menu or
‘w’ key on the keyboard, a window can be selected. It is selected around the
maximum amplitude on the trace, preferably in the S-wave portion as shown
in (Fig. 2.6).

Figure 2.6: Waveform plot in single trace mode after selecting a window and maximum
amplitude.[16]
3. Another trace showing an unfiltered plot of the waveform appears beneath the
window selection trace to manually or automatically select the maximum
amplitude.
4. For manual selection, place the cursor at the peak in one direction and then
place the cursor at the peak in the other direction. For automatic selection,
press the ‘A’ key.
5. After selecting the maximum amplitude, exit the single trace mode and locate
the event. The results are displayed as shown in (Fig. 2.7).

Figure 2.7: Locating the event after selecting the maximum amplitude to calculate ML[17].
30
Note: An additional line for the magnitude is added right after the phase lines. The
first column contains the station code followed by the component on which the
amplitude is picked. The next columns are the hypocentral distance from the stations
(‘hdist’), amplitude picked (in nm), and time period and type of magnitude with its
value.
6. For accuracy, magnitude is picked using three stations or the Triangulation
method. The average magnitude is written at the end of the header line (Fig.
aa2.8)

Figure 2.8: Locating event after selecting max amplitude to calculate ML for 3 stations[18]
2.6.2. Moment Magnitude, Mw
Moment magnitude MW is calculated from the seismic moment, which along with
the spectral level of the S or P-wave spectrum is determined by SEISAN. The
seismic moment can be calculated from the seismograms using the following
equation:
log10 MO = a + b log10(C x D x Δ p)
where, C: maximum peak-to-peak amplitude (mm)
D: duration between the S-arrival and the onset with amplitude C/d
Δ: epicentral distance (km)
a, b, p (=1) and d (=3) are constants

31
SEISAN calculates seismic moment from the displacement spectrum of the
waveform using the following equation (Keilis-Borok ):

Where, p: average crustal density

β: average shear wave velocity
FS: factor for the free surface effect
RθΦ: factor for the shear wave radiation pattern
Computed seismic moment is then converted to magnitude in a range that overlaps
with the Richter scale using,
MW = 2/3log10M0 - 10.7
Steps to calculate the moment magnitude in SEISAN are,
1. As magnitude readings are always taken on the Z component, the first step is
to plot it in the single trace mode.
2. By clicking ‘Spec’ or the key ‘s’ on the keyboard, a window around the
maximum amplitude, preferably in the S-wave portion, can be selected.
3. The displacement spectrum can either be plotted manually by pressing the ‘d’
key on the keyboard, fitting a trendline manually by moving the cursor and
clicking on the spectrum or it can be autofitted by pressing the key ‘s’
(Fig.2.9).

Figure 2.9: Displacement spectrum with trend line fitted as per the fall of the curve at corner
frequency[19]

32
Note: Parameters like seismic moment (MO), low-frequency level (OM), corner
frequency (fO), etc. are also calculated and displayed on the right of the spectrum
window. The top spectrum is the Displacement spectrum and the bottom one is the
Fourier spectrum (or S-spectrum).
4. Locating the event will display results on the screen as shown in fig. 2.10.

Figure 2.10: Results for moment magnitude.[20]

Note: There is a separate line (similar to the local magnitude) in the output for
moment magnitude.
In this chapter, it is discussed that SEISAN, an open-source software, offers a
complete seismic analysis system and a sample database for analyzing earthquakes
from analogue and digital data. Beginning with the workflow of SEISAN, different
phases depending on earthquake location with respect to the seismic station were
read, followed by determining both local and moment magnitude after spectral
analysis of the concerned event. Both single station location and three station
location or Triangulation method were used and have been discussed above in the
chapter. Precise evaluation of location had been carried out by reducing root mean
square (rms) value below 0.5 for all events.

33
Chapter-3
Geology and Tectonics

The inter-plate Himalayan zone on the boundary of the Indian and the Eurasian
tectonic plates has a very complex lithospheric setup. Ongoing NNE directed motion
of the Indian plate movement with respect to the Eurasian plate is the main cause of
widespread tectonic deformation within the Himalayan wedge system and adjoining
parts. Geological investigations of the Himalaya and surrounding regions portray
these assumptions supported by global positioning system (GPS) measurements and
other geophysical methods.

Fig. 3.1. Cumulative seismic energy obtained from all earthquakes occurred during 1551–2005[21]
GPS measurement provides a very accurate assessment of earth surface movements
and has a vital application in subsurface deformation. It has identified a north–south
shortening rate of 15–20 mm per year for the Himalayan region. This deformation
is mainly consumed by under- thrusting of the Indian plate below the Eurasian plate
and the remaining part is result of increasing topography of the Himalaya and Tibet.
Due to the pilling of thrust sheets, the Himalaya topography follows a trough and
crest pattern with maximum height (8848 m) towards the northern extremity in the
form of Mount Everest. Tectonic pressure and stress acting under the action of
subsurface deep-seated forces give rise to unidirectional or multidirectional
extension, compression, or displacement. These are evidenced in igneous,
metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks in the form of fracture, fold, and fault.
34
Although, the overall mountain structures within the Himalaya are quite complex,
however, most of these mountains aligned nearly to EW direction.
The ongoing convergence zone or shortening surface in the Himalayan region started
~45 my ago and continues till date, has caused the formation of many major and
regional tectonic fault systems in addition to other tectonic deformation. Well
documented major tectonic faults are the Himalayan Frontal Thrust (HFT), the Main
Boundary Thrust (MBT), the Main Central Thrust (MCT), the South Tibetan
Detachment (STD), and the Indus-Tsangpo Suture Zone (ITSZ) striking along the
Himalayan arc. Spatial distribution of past seismicity (ML ≥4.0) over the region
demonstrates a high density of earthquakes in Lesser Himalaya and Higher
Himalaya, the regions north of MBT and MCT respectively. Throughout the
Himalayan arc, this high seismicity zone of ~50 km wide is aligned in nearly NNW-
SSE direction which is located around the surface trace of MCT. The Seismic
catalogue of NW Himalaya compiled for over 400 years has a completeness
threshold of magnitude 4.3 since 1965. To remove the ambiguity of earthquake size,
events data are converted in a form of energy release and plotted as spatial variation
in the NW Himalaya. Epicenters indicate that the events are mainly concentrated in
the higher Himalayan zone with an exceptional part of Kinnaur Himalaya. Past
reported high seismic activity of the Kinnaur region to the north of STD is a unique
feature of the Himalayan geodynamic setup. Seismic activity is as high as all-time
prevalent seismicity throughout Himalaya along the surface trace of MCT. However,
high seismicity of the Kinnaur region is mainly noticed after the occurrence of the
strong MS 6.8 Kinnaur earthquake of 1975 and its aftershock activity. This was due
to the limited number of seismic stations in this part of the remote region to the north
of the higher Himalaya.
Earlier focal mechanism solutions in the upper Sutlej River and adjoining part of
Spiti River exhibit N- and NNE-trending normal faults.Upper Sutlej River Basin is
a large pull-apart structure, which has higher topography compared to surrounding
regions. In the vicinity of the MS6.8 earthquake, four moderate magnitude
earthquakes occurred. Three earthquakes have a pure normal fault mechanism and
one earthquake is generated with oblique deformation. The seismicity is cumulative
seismic energy obtained from all earthquakes occurred during 1551–2005. The
epicenters of big size earthquakes (M ≥5.0) are marked with circles and star denotes
the epicentre location of the devastating 1905 great Kangra earthquake. Focal
mechanism solutions of well reported past earthquakes occurred during 1905 to 1999
are shown with lower hemisphere beachball. Inset: The tectonic setup of the
Himalaya-Tibet region, the present study region is shown with a rectangle. HFT:
Himalayan Frontal Thrust; MBT: Main Boundary thrust; MCT: Main Central
Thrust; PT: Panjal Thrust; STD: South Tibetan Detachment; KEQ: Kinnaur
35
Earthquake; UEQ: Uttarkashi Earthquake; CEQ: Chamoli Earthquake. associated
with the Kaurik-Chango fault zone (KCFZ) of the Kinnaur Himalaya which is
aligned nearly in the N-S direction. KCFZ tends to emphasize the importance of
transverse tectonics in the seismogenesis of seismic activity in the part of Kinnaur
Himalaya.
Therefore, the present study region elaborates significantly the deformation patterns
of several different faults like normal, strike-slip, and thrust faulting due to active
tectonics. Predominately, an east-–west extension is interpreted in the Tethys
Himalaya in the northern part of the study region, which is also inferred as a
consequence of extension in the lower crust and upper Mantle beneath Tethys
Himalaya and Tibet. It is also noticed that the observed extensional tectonics is just
aligned along with sub-surface NNE extension of Aravali-Delhi and Delhi-Haridwar
ridges of Indo-Gangetic plains where N-S trending normal faults are resultant of
local uplift. Seismic events mainly of M ≥3.0 extracted from the International
Seismological Centre (ISC) from 2007 to 2012 highlight seismicity based on global
and regional seismic networks. A small, local temporary seismological network was
deployed in Kinnaur Himalaya in and around the epicentral zone of the 1975 MS 6.8
earthquake. Its main aim is to develop a new local seismic velocity model and to
enhance the knowledge of seismogenesis of existing active faults. Present seismicity
has been monitored the first time using this dense broadband seismic (BBS) network.
The local network was installed in stringent high altitude terrain in the year 2008 by
the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG), Dehradun, India. Similar local
velocity models have been established in the western and south-eastern parts of the
study region. However, the present study region has a different geotectonic setup
and seismic activities.
The present data is the first high-quality seismic events of the region used to obtain
the 1D velocity model. An additional goal of this temporary network was to highlight
local micro- seismicity sectors to the north of the High Himalayan Seismic Belt
(HHSB). It is also interesting because until now we lack a clear understanding of
seismo-tectonics of this area. To understand seismo- tectonics, micro-earthquake
data is analyzed that is recorded during the 2008–2012 period. In addition, the
earthquake data of Mw 5.0 of 2007 and its aftershock events from the southern part
of the study region are also used for seismotectonic investigation. Results are
integrated with available complementary geological, geophysical, geomorphic, and
neo-tectonic data to synthesize the seismotectonic model of the region. It suggests
that a region to the north of STD and west of the Karakoram fault (KF) consists of
several tectonic blocks and earthquakes occur on the edges of these blocks. Work
done to date by various authors suggests that in the study region focal mechanism

36
along KCFZ is a normal mechanism which is contrary to the general reverse type of
focal mechanism occurring in most of the parts of NW Himalaya.

3.1 Geological Setting and Tectonic Evolution

Kinematics of the Himalayan evolution is largely controlled by major faults
predominated as thrust faulting. In this process of the Himalayan orogeny,
tectonic faults have developed bounding of various terraces that have been
gradually scraped off due to under-thrusting the Indian plate and accreted to
the Himalayan Wedge. The region under study belongs to the western part of
the Indo-Eurasian plate boundary, which is geologically very complex zone.
The recent upper crustal set is formed by three types of geological domains
namely:
(1) Lesser Himalaya, the region between MBT and MCT mainly
composed of low-grade Proterozoic sediments of Indian plate.
(2) High Himalaya Crystalline (HHC) rocks, to the north of MCT are
Precambrian to Proterozoic in ages which are dominantly gneisses and
schists with green-schist to amphibolite facies metamorphism
(3) Tethys Himalaya to the north of STD contains Upper Proterozoic to
Eocene sedimentary cover of the north Indian margin.

In the north, the ITSZ fault with the NW-SE trend has thrust-type faulting
parallel to its strike. Further north, the Karakorum fault has a right-lateral
motion parallel to ITSZ. Parts of the present study region also contain the
oceanic crust or thinned continental crust formed during the Neogene period.
Kinnaur region located to the north of STD belongs to the south Tibetan
detachment zone which was also a part of Tethys oceanic crust. NNE trending
faults are of Late Cenozoic origin in which Leo Pargil Block is bounded by
high-angle faults on both east and west flank. A local seismically active
Kaurik-Chango normal fault exists to the southwest of Leo Pargil host. This
major upper crustal-scale tectonic unit is nearly aligned to N-S and dips
towards the west with high angle dip. Here, the HHC sequence is limited by
MCT at its base, and by extensional Sangla Detachment (SD) at its top.

This sequence is well exposed along Sutlej Valley to the south of STD.
Toward foreland, the MCT becomes a shallow-dipping thrust, separating
HHC Sequence from low to medium-grade sediments of the Lesser Himalaya.
The extent of MCT perpendicular to this range, from the north-eastern limit
of Kullu-Larji-Rampur Window (KLRW) to the outermost klippe of the HHC

37
 sequence (Shimla klippe), indicates a minimum displacement of about 100
km.

3.2 The Local and Regional Seismic Network

A dense regional broadband seismic (BBS) network in the NW Himalaya
region is operated and maintained by WIHG, Dehradun India. The network
was installed in a phased manner in different sections of the NW Himalaya
with overall emphasis to monitor seismicity, evaluate subsurface structures
and tectonics in this Himalayan region to the south of India-Eurasia collision
boundary. In addition to this local seismic network, the India Meteorological
Department (IMD) New Delhi, India as a nodal agency of India seismological
network is also operating stations to monitor regional seismicity in this region
of the Himalaya.

In the present study region of Kinnaur Himalaya, WIHG installed a network

of 10 BBS stations in mid-2008 to monitor seismic activity to micro-
earthquake level in the epicenter zone of Ms 6.8 Kinnaur earthquake of 1975.
This is the only region in the NW Himalaya where a localized zone of high
seismic activity exists to the north of the STD. These stations are having a
Trillium 240 broadband seismometer of Nanometric, Canada with a natural
period of 240s. A seismometer is attached with the Taurus digitizer that is
recording data with a dynamic range of >140 dB. At each station, the data is
sampled at a sampling rate of 100 SPS and synchronized with a GPS clock.
As a part of the regional seismic network, two nearby stations (inverted
triangles) of IMD are combined to make a network of 12 stations to obtain
crustal velocity structure and seismotectonic model of the region(Fig 3.2).

3.3 Regional Seismicity

NW Himalaya region has experienced several large earthquakes in the past
and many moderate earthquakes have been reported in recent times. Kangra
event of 1905 is the great earthquake that occurred in the central part of NW
Himalaya and after 100 years on October 8, 2005, a major earthquake
(Mw7.6) occurred in the western part of the Kashmir region. This recent large
earthquake has caused casualties of over 80,000 in Pakistan and India. During
the last 50 years, three strong earthquakes occurred in the NW Himalaya are
M6.8 Kinnaur earthquake of 1975, the M6.4 Uttarkashi earthquake of 1991,
and the M6.6 Chamoli earthquake of 1999. Kinnaur region and its southern
part to the west of Garhwal Himalaya cover the present study zone. M6.8
earthquake occurred in 1975 within Kinnaur has normal fault mechanism,
while the M6.4 earthquake of 1991 of the Garhwal region supports reverse
38
faulting. A moderate magnitude earthquake of Mw5.0 occurred at Kharsali in
2007 in the western Garhwal exhibits areverse fault mechanism which is
located towards the southeast to the epicentre of the Uttarkashi earthquake of
1991.

The fault mechanisms of these prominent earthquakes suggest that the

northern part of the study region has a different tectonic environment of
normal faulting perpendicular to the Himalayan arc. It has been observed that
smaller size earthquakes in the Himalaya are mostly focused at a shallow
depth above the detachment surface along imbricate planes arising from the
detachment zone around MCT. Except for the Kinnaur earthquake of 1975,
above mentioned three recent earthquakes were also located in the depth range
which had deformed sub-surface region at the junction of the detachment
plane and MCT having a focal mechanism of thrust type. Kinnaur earthquake
to the north was located within the upper crust above detachment at a depth
of 15–20 km. It developed a normal focal mechanism resulting extension
along the East-West direction.

The epicentre of this earthquake to the north of STD is far away from the high
seismic belt of the Himalaya. Based on observed seismicity, the study region
is divided into two zones. The southern part denoted as zone 1 represents
seismicity of the higher Himalayan seismic belt aligned towards NW-SE and
related to the major tectonics of Himalaya. In this zone, a higher concentration
of earthquake epicentres is along the surface trace of MCT up to Sankri in the
Garhwal Himalaya. West to Sankri, MCT bends towards SW from NW-SE
alignment, making a narrow zone of Lesser Himalaya in the Nahan Salient
region. However, epicentres extend towards the west with similar NW-SE
alignment and high activity zone is prevalent in the KLRW. This zone is a
part of HHSB where epicentres are always dense compared to the other parts
as observed throughout the Himalayan belt.

Seismicity extends to the adjoining parts of Garhwal-Kumaon Himalaya

towards the east and the Kangra-Chamba region towards the west. Most of the
seismic events are related to the detachment zone confined in a depth range of
10–15 km. At this depth, the Indian plate detached from the upper zone of the
Himalayan wedge system. The majority of the seismic events has a
thrust/reverse focal mechanism.

39
Fig. 3.2. The present seismicity of the NW Himalaya along with tectonic features (a) grey color-filled
circles represent available epicentres of whole NW Himalaya extracted from International Seismological
Centre (ISC) for the study period (b) red-filled circles represent microearthquake epicentres of the Kinnaur-
Garhwal region obtained through the recent local seismic network where blue triangles (WIHG) and
inverted triangles (IMD) are the seismic stations.[22]

40
Chapter-4
Methodology

4.1 SEISAN
Seisan is a computer program or a set of programs that facilitates the conversion of
analog machine-readable data into digital data that could be interpreted by humans.
Seisan allows user to locate local as well as global earthquakes , calculate azimuth
and rake and at the same time can plot them and provide most reasonable FPS. Seisan
can run under wide variety of programs including Sun Solaris , Linux , MacOSX
and windows .The programs are written in Fortran , a few in C and almost all source
codes is given so a user can easily modify the program in accordance with the output
requirement.

4.2 DIRECTORIES
The system contains the following subdirectories:
• REA: Earthquake readings and full epicenter solutions in a database
• WOR: The users work directory, initially empty
• TMP: Temporal storage of files, initially empty
• PRO: Programs, source code and executables
• LIB: Libraries and subroutines
• DAT: Default and parameter files, e.g. station coordinates
• WAV: Digital waveform data files
• CAL: System calibration files
• INF: Documentation and information
• ISO: Macro seismic information
• SUP: Supplementary files and programs
• INC: Include files for programs and subroutines in PRO and LIB
• COM: Command procedures

41
4.3 THE DATABASE
The database of SEISAN consists of the two directories REA and WAV. The REA
directory and its subdirectories contain readings and source information while all
waveform data is normally in the directory WAV with no subdirectories. Optionally
WAV can also be divided into a similar subdirectory structure which is useful when
storing continuous data in particular. The DELET database contains all events
deleted from any of the databases (here BERGE/BER and NAO). Filenames are
identical between all platforms.

Figure 4.1: Structure of SEISAN. Note that BERGE under WAV is optional and
DELET (not shown) under REA has a similar directory structure as e.g. NAO.[23]
4.4 CREATING DATABASE
Databases are created by using the command MAKEREA.
✓ STEP 1- First open the command prompt window.
✓ STEP 2- then enter the command MAKEREA.
✓ STEP 3- now enter the database name.
✓ STEP 4- enter the start time, year month.
✓ STEP 5- now enter the end date, year month.
✓ STEP 6- now enter BOTH.
Now the database has been created.
42
 Figure 4.2: Output screen after creating a database.[24]

4.5 LISTING THE EVENTS

Events are listed using the command cd
✓ STEP 1 -Go to the path where seisan file is stored and copy the path and
type CMD command promote is open.
✓ STEP 2 -now use the command dirf * to view the files in the designated
folder.

Figure 4.3 – Output screen after events are listed.[24]

43
4.6 CONVERTING A FILE TO SEISAN FILE AND THEN
PLOTTING IT
✓ STEP 1 - First list the data contents of the folder.
✓ STEP 2 - then use the command rt_seis file name.
✓ STEP 3 - then use the command dirf *.
✓ STEP 4 - finally enter the command mulplt.
✓ STEP 5 - enter the file name or number of the file that is newly created.
✓ STEP 6 - press 0 for multi-trace plot on the screen.
✓ STEP 7 - press return for no filters.

Figure 4.4– Input screen[25]

Figure 4.5 - Output screen.[26]

44
4.7 REGISTERING AND MARKING THE EVENT
✓ STEP 1- after plotting press 4 to register the event. Press L or R for local and
regional events.
✓ STEP 2- give any random 4 alphabet operator code
✓ STEP 3- Now enter the directory name that was created in the previous steps.
✓ STEP 4- After getting the output from the previous step move the cursor to
the z component of the waveform and press 2 for the P wave.
✓ STEP 5- Mark the highest and lowest amplitude in either of E or N component
by clicking on the seisan menu option on “WA w” press A after putting cursor
on highest and lowest amplitude.
✓ STEP6- similarly press 8 for the onset of S-wave and press c for coda length.
The same procedure is repeated for other stations. At least three stations must be
marked for location.
Now your event has been saved permanently and can be viewed, edited and plotted
anytime.

Figure 4.6 - Output screen[27]

45
 Figure 4.7– Output screen[28]

4.8 LOCATING THE EVENT

After plotting the p, s, amplitude and coda events are located by pressing the
Command ‘l’. The RMS error should be less than 0.5 to obtain an almost perfect
result. Spectral parameters used for the analysis are mostly found in file
MULPLT.DEF in DAT. The spectrum can also be fitted automatically by giving
option Autofit spectrum (‘s’) instead of ‘d’ just before the spectrum comes up. This
will often be more reliable than the manual fit but must be checked, particularly for
correctness of the automatically selected frequency band used.

4.9 Methodology
The recorded amplitude of an earth quake depends on the combined effect of the
source size, propagation path, and local site effects.,

46
 Fig 4.8: – Seismotectonic Map of Study reason with location of epicenter of earthquake used in present
work[29]

it can be expressed as
𝑦(𝑡) = 𝑠(𝑡) ∗ 𝑝(𝑡) ∗ 𝑒(𝑡) (4.1)
where s(t), p(t), and e(t) describe the source, path, and site effects, respectively. To
estimate the source parameters, one must isolate the source term by removing the
path and site effects from the wave - form. First, the site and path effects are
computed in terms of site amplification curves and shear- wave quality factors by
using the horizontal to vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) and coda normalization
method. The obtained site and path effects are then used to deconvolve the path and
site response in order to separate the source term, which is then further utilized to
estimate the source parameters. The scaling relations of the obtained source
parameters are also developed in this work. Figure shows a flow diagram to
visualize this workflow. A detailed description regarding the computation of (1) site
effects, (2) path effects, and (3) their implication when estimating the source
parameters is provided in ‘‘Site Effects’’, ‘‘Path Effects’’, and ‘‘Source Parameters’’
sections.

4.9.1 Site Effects

An earthquake waveform is modified by site effects, which are related to local site
conditions, e.g.., he presence of the variation within the rock strata, which may
47
amplify or suppress certain frequencies of the incident waveform, depending on the
physical properties of the near-surface strata and top soil. The local site condition
can be estimated from the vertical and horizontal components. To evaluate the site
effects, Nakamura (1989) proposed the horizontal to vertical spectral ratio (H/V)
method for the recording site. The H/V method proposed by Nakamura (1989) and
modified by Lermo & Chavez-Garcia (1993) is applied here to compute the site
effects. In this method, the average spectral amplitude of the horizontal component
is divided by the spectral amplitude of the vertical component. The horizontal
component is considered to be the combined effect of the NS and EW components.
The HVSR is then expressed as
1
√(𝐻𝑁 )2+ (𝐻𝐸 )2
√2
𝐻𝑆𝑉𝑅 = (4.2)
𝑉

where HN, HE, and V are the Fourier amplitude spectra of the north–south, east–west,
and vertical component, respectively. The obtained H/V ratio is smoothed using a
Gaussian window of constant length. The selection of the window length for each
event has been thoroughly investigated, and in order to achieve consistent
smoothing, a constant window length is considered in the present work.

Figure 4.9: - Systematic flow chart of methodology adopted in present work.[30]

48
 Table 1: - Geographical locations of recording stations used in present work.

The number of events considered at a single station is presented in Table 4.1,

depending on the availability of data, further providing the resultant averaged H/V
curve for a given station. The computation of the H/V curve using an event on
15/1/2010 recorded at Sarhan station is exemplified in Fig. 4.10.
The S-phase is selected on the basis of visual inspection. The selected portion is
converted to the frequency domain by using the fast Fourier transform (FFT)
algorithm. The resulting north–south and east west components are obtained as the
root mean square of these components. The resultant horizontal component is
divided by the Fourier spectra of the vertical component, thus providing the H/V
curve for this event. In the same way, different numbers of events are utilized to
compute the H/V curves at a station, and the average of these curves provides the
final H/V curve for a particular station.
4.9.2 Path Effects
The amplitude of an earthquake waveform decays with the distance traveled from
its source. The decay of the amplitude depends upon various factors as it loses energy
due to heat loss, frictional loss, or redistribution of energy within the propagation
region. The decay of the amplitude is termed attenuation, and the wave attenuation
is quantified by a dimensionless quantity known as the quality factor (Q). The coda
normalization method proposed by Aki (1980) is adopted to estimate the S wave
quality factor Qs(f). The basic assumption behind this method is to normalize the S-
wave spectral amplitude by that of the coda wave.

49
 Figure 4.10: - Computation of H/V curve for an event recorded at Sarhan station. Black and
blue site amplification curves are unsmoothed and smoothed, respectively.[31]

The spectral amplitude of the coda at a lapse time tc for frequency f, i.e., Ac(f, tc), is
given as
𝐴𝑐(𝑓, 𝑡𝑐 ) = 𝑆𝑠 (𝑓)𝑃(𝑓, 𝑡𝑐 )𝐺(𝑓)𝐼(𝑓) (4.3)
In the above equation, Ss (f), P(f, tc), G(f), and I(f) are the S-wave source spectral
amplitude, coda excitation factor, site amplification factor, and instrumental
response, respectively. The S-wave spectral amplitude As (f, r) is expressed as
𝜋𝑓𝑟
(− )
𝐴𝑠 (𝑓, 𝑟) = 𝑅𝜃𝜙 𝑆𝑠 (𝑓)𝑟 −𝛾 𝑒 𝑄𝑠(𝑓)𝑉𝑠 𝐺(𝑓, 𝜓)𝐼(𝑓) (4.4)
In Eq.4.4, 𝑟 denotes the hypo central distance, 𝑅𝜃𝜙 represents the radiation pattern,
and 𝛾 is the geometrical spreading exponent. For this computation, events having r
≤ 100 km are considered, so the geometrical spreading is taken as r-1. The term 𝜓
denotes the angle of incidence of S-wave, and Vs represents the shear wave velocity,
which is considered to be 3.21 km/s for this work. Equation (4.4) is normalized by
using Eq. (4.3), assuming that 𝑅𝜃𝜙 is negligible in the present situation, where
several earthquakes with good azimuthal coverage are considered. After averaging
50
several earthquakes, the ratio 𝐺(𝑓, 𝜓)/𝐺(𝑓) becomes independent of 𝜓 and now Eq.
(4.4) divided by Eq. (4.3), taking an average over the hypocentral distance range of
r ± ∆r, can be denoted in the form
𝐴𝑠 (𝑓,𝑟)𝑟 −𝛱𝑓𝑟
ln [ ] = (𝑄 + 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡(𝑓) (4.5)
𝐴𝑐 (𝑓,𝑡𝑐 ) 𝑟±𝛥𝑟 𝑆 (𝑓)𝑉𝑠 )

4.9.3 Source Parameters

The HVSR curves are used to remove the site effects from the observed record. For
the removal of site effects, decoupling of the H/V curve is achieved by using the
observed spectra with a FFT, where the observed spectra are divided by the obtained
H/V curves. The average H/V curve is obtained at each recording station, and the
H/V curve computed for a particular station is used to correct the waveform records
from that station. In this manner, separate H/V average curves obtained for each
individual station are used to correct each record. Now, from this corrected record,
the spectral analysis of S-phase is carried out to compute the source parameters. A
definite time window covering the S-phase with 10%cosine taper at both ends is
applied to obtain the displacement spectrum. The selection of this window is carried
out on the basis of visual inspection of the entire seismogram, starting from the onset
of the S-phase until the arrival of the low-frequency surface wave. We fit the Brune
spectra proposed for the circular model, as later modified for the high-frequency
attenuation parameter j as proposed by Anderson and Hough, to the corrected
observed displacement spectra using the expression
𝛺0 −𝜋𝑓𝑅
𝐷(𝑓, 𝑅) = 2 𝐺(𝑅) 𝑒𝑥𝑝 ( ) 𝑒𝑥𝑝(−𝜋𝑘𝑓) (4.6)
𝑓 𝑄𝑆 𝑉𝑠
[1+( ) ]
𝑓𝐶

In the above equation, fc and 𝛺0 denote the corner frequency and long-period spectral
level, defined as the amplitude of the spectrum that corresponds to the flat, low-
frequency part. The term G(r) describes the geometrical spreading, which is
considered to go as 1/R for R≤100 km and 1/(10√R) for R > 100 km in this work,
where R is the hypo central distance. The term exp(−𝜋𝑓𝑅⁄𝑄𝑆 𝑉𝑠 ) accounts for the
elastic attenuation, and to compensate this term, the Qs computed at each individual
station is utilized in this work. The Qs value is calculated at each recording station,
so different values of Qs corresponding to each station are utilized to correct the
spectrum for this path attenuation term Vs is the shear wave velocity, which is taken
as 3.21 km/s in this work. 𝑘 is the kappa value, which represents the high-frequency
attenuation of the near-surface region. In this work, the kappa value is estimated
from least squares linear fitting of the spectrum above the corner frequency from
where the linear downward trend is observed in the spectrum; the obtained kappa
51
values lie in the range of 0.017–0.041. The estimated 𝑘 values for each record are
then used in Eq. (4.6) to obtain the corrected source spectra.
The source parameters are estimated by varying the parameters 𝑓𝑐 and 𝛺0 using a
grid search technique, in which the corrected spectrum is compared with the
theoretical spectrum obtained by using Brune’s model. In the grid search method,
the parameters 𝑓𝑐 and 𝛺0 are used as variables within a specified range. The initial
values and varying range of these parameters are determined on the basis of visual
inspection. An example of the selection of the final 𝑓𝑐 and 𝛺0 values for the spectrum
of the event at Sarhan station is presented in Fig 4.11.

Figure 4.11 : - Selection of final 𝑓𝑐 and 𝛺0 values for the spectrum of the 24/9/2014 event at
Sarhan station: (a) different values of 𝑓𝑐 and 𝛺0 used in the grid search method; (b) distribution
of RMSE corresponding to different values of 𝑓𝑐 and 𝛺0 ; (c) misfit between observed and
theoretical spectra for different values of 𝑓𝑐 and 𝛺0 .[32]

52
For this, the initial guesses for 𝑓𝑐 and 𝛺0 are considered to be 1.0 and 1 x 10–6,
respectively. The 𝑓𝑐 and 𝛺0 values selected on the basis of the minimum RMSE are
further used to compute various parameters, viz. the seismic moment (Mo), source
radius (𝑟), stress drop (𝜎), and moment magnitude (Mw), by using the following
expressions

4𝜋𝜌𝛽 3 𝑅𝛺0
𝑀0 = (4.7)
𝑅𝜃𝜙 𝑆𝑎

2.34𝛽
𝑟= (4.8)
2𝜋𝑓𝑐
7𝑀0
𝜎= (4.9)
16𝑟 3
2
𝑀𝑤 = (log10 𝑀0 − 16.1) (4.10)
3

where 𝛽 and 𝜌 are the S-wave velocity and density, which are considered to be 3.21
km/s and 2.67 g/cm 3 , respectively, 𝑆𝑎 is the free surface amplification (= 2), and
𝑅𝜃𝜙 is the radiation factor with a value of 0.63.
The source parameters of an event are estimate by using each individual waveform
recorded at various recording stations. The average values of the source parameters
obtained from the individual records represent the final source parameters of a
particular event. The 𝑓𝑐 and 𝛺0 values obtained from the spectral analysis provide
the seismic moment value through the empirical relation in Eq. (4.7), which is further
utilized to compute the moment magnitude of the earthquakes.

53
Chapter-5
Result and Conclusions

The data I have analyzed, was of North West Himalayan India. We have taken about
75 earthquakes from the NW Himalayan region, recorded by the seismic network of
Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG) during the period. The source
parameters and spectrum are determined using the earthquake location program. The
magnitude ranges of earthquakes are between 1.5 – 3.6.
A total of 75 local earthquakes are recorded by the recently installed BBC network
with a high signal -to-noise ratio (usual inspection) are analyzed by the SESIAN
software ( Hauskov and Ottemoller 1999) to read arrival time of different seismic
phases. The hypocentre and parameters of the earthquakes are compelled using the
program of Lee and Lohe (1975). Some of the epicenters are much away from the
networks. The earthquakes within the area are:
ORIGI DURATION (in LATITUD LONGITUD MAGNITUD
DATE N sec.) E E DEPTH E
02-09-2016 08:49 49.13 3130.84N 7135.1E 16.4 2.1
02-09-2016 16:14 18.45 3199.61N 7815.6E 0.8 1.6
03-09-2016 19:37 12.06 3129.70N 7739.7E 0.3 1.0
03-09-2016 22:09 54.65 3131.70N 7731.3E 22.0 1.7
03-09-2016 22:11 33.56 3142.27N 7193.2E 8.0 1.2
03-09-2016 23:19 12.81 3292.47N 7712.7E 18.1 1.5
01-09-2016 08:36 8.80 3057.51N 7832.2E 126.0 1.3
01-09-2016 09:35 4.25 3215.66N 7816.0E 7.4 1.6
01-09-2016 13:12 15.92 3135.88N 7544.4E 0.0 2.6
02-09-2016 07:09 34.15 3172.66N 7859.7E 77.3 1.6
02-09-2016 12:14 10.19 3149.84N 7844.3E 109.9 2.2
02-09-2016 14:05 48.98 3130.16N 7787.3E 10.0 1.9
03-09-2016 13:10 37.60 3141.03N 7811.0E 3.5 0.9
03-09-2016 19:21 25.57 3145.33N 7881.0E 12.5 1.3
28-08-2016 01:46 50.97 3230.73N 7736.5E 13.6 1.5
28-08-2016 15:21 28.23 3112.61N 7731.9E 0.0 1.6
28-08-2016 19:04 13.70 3241.68N 7610.4E 46.1 1.9
28-08-2016 19:38 52.78 3131.66N 7735.2E 16.4 2.5
28-08-2016 20:31 51.65 3129.04N 7738.5E 9.0 1.8
28-08-2016 21:32 7.87 3122.71N 7736.5E 9.5 1.5
28-08-2016 21:58 2.88 3133.37N 7738.6E 0.0 1.1
28-08-2016 06:04 6.87 3129.68N 7735.5E 19.5 1.6
54
28-08-2016 06:39 7.49 3131.36N 7735.8E 16.3 2.2
28-08-2016 08:23 33.87 3139.13N 7739.1E 4.4 1.2
28-08-2016 09:18 49.60 3258.44N 7613.9E 0.0 5.5
28-08-2016 12:22 41.31 3235.01N 7612.7E 4.8 2.4
30-08-2016 20:08 9.16 3130.71N 7735.4E 17.1 1.5
30-08-2016 20:34 33.03 3131.63N 7735.1E 12.7 2.2
30-08-2016 04:44 29.90 3137.63N 7655.2E 0.9 1.8
30-08-2016 03:52 22.16 3145.12N 7648.0E 0.0 1.9
31-08-2016 10:40 42.58 3123.31N 7861.9E 10.0 1.7
31-08-2016 21:56 10.15 3123.14N 7736.3E 7.1 1.5
31-08-2016 23:26 41.71 3131.65N 7736.6E 15.4 2.2
31-08-2016 13:58 24.18 3132.35N 7737.7E 4.4 1.6
29-08-2016 00:25 21.36 3136.36N 7787.8E 3.8 1.3
29-08-2016 00:35 46.59 3117.60N 7741.9E 27.8 1.5
29-08-2016 06:40 38.55 3127.88N 7739.3E 25.8 1.6
29-08-2016 06:44 55.11 3111.06N 7737.1E 26.1 1.5
29-08-2016 18:33 14.41 3124.11N 7737.3E 15.6 1.6
29-08-2016 21:25 58.49 3119.09N 7824.1E 18.0 1.2
08-12-2013 14:00 21.51 3128.84N 7746.1E 10.0 2.4
08-12-2013 21:25 59.17 323.35N 7759.0E 38.7 3.0
10-12-2013 15:18 35.09 3139.57N 7823.2E 11.8 2.3
02-12-2013 03:33 8.93 3237.58N 7645.6E 11.8 3.3
03-12-2013 23:07 37.31 3158.38N 7831.3E 0.1 1.8
04-12-2013 23:09 19.95 3140.10N 7813.4E 0.0 2.1
04-12-2013 15:51 2.55 3151.99N 7814.2E 0.0 2.3
06-12-2013 10:08 57.54 3245.50N 7853.1E 18.7 4.5
01-12-2013 00:41 28.93 3152.10N 7843.6E 15.0 1.6
02-12-2013 01:43 19.93 3746.44N 7814.8E 0.1 2.0
02-12-2013 03:20 7.94 3153.05N 7716.6E 0.0 1.7
02-12-2013 22:57 8.71 3118.08N 7833.1E 25.2 2.1
03-12-2013 19:49 13.08 3144.62N 7718.4E 0.0 1.9
05-12-2013 02:16 21.97 3121.07N 7752.1E 14.9 2.4
07-12-2013 00:50 26.84 3134.49N 7143.7E 15.0 2.8
08-12-2013 14:00 19.36 3126.70N 7749.5E 12.7 2.5
08-12-2013 21:25 59.11 3231.12N 7815.2E 17.7 3.0
10-12-2013 15:18 35.91 3140.34N 7813.8E 5.9 2.7
13-12-2013 15:32 11.74 3022.24N 7731.3E 6.5 3.1
14-12-2013 16:29 42.84 3127.82N 7812.9E 28.4 2.1
16-12-2012 22:27 47.45 3041.60N 7753.4E 0.1 2.4

55
5.1 Results
The source spectra obtained after removal of the site effects and attenuation
properties are used to compute the earthquake source parameters. Earthquake data
recorded at the surface are always influenced by local site effects and the attenuation
properties along the propagation ray path. The H/V curves and quality factor (Q) are
estimated at each recording station. The 𝑄𝑠 values obtained at each individual station
are further used to develop a regional attenuation relation for the study region. A
numerical experiment is carried out to confirm the effect of the site amplification
and attenuation properties in the estimation of the earthquake source parameters.
This experiment uses an event recorded at Sarhan station to validate the presence of
site effects and the attenuation properties in the earth-quake waveform (Fig. 5.1). In
this, the observed spectrum includes (1) the correction of the regional 𝑄𝑠 relation,
without site effects correction (Fig. 5.1a), (2) the correction of the 𝑄𝑠 relation for
Sarhan station without site effects correction (Fig. 5.1b), and (3) the correction of
the 𝑄𝑠 relation for Sarhan station with site effects correction (Fig. 5.1c). In each case,
the observed spectrum is compared with the theoretical Brune spectrum, and the best
match corresponding to the minimum RMSE is obtained by using the grid search
method. A comparison between the observed and theoretical spectra provides the
minimum error in case 3, where the 𝑄𝑠 relation of the particular station with site
effects correction is applied to the observed spectrum. This finding reveals that the
best match between the observed and theoretical spectra is obtained after the
application of both corrections (Fig. 5.1c), as compared with the two other cases
(Fig. 5.1a, b). This numerical test is for demonstration purposes; the same procedure
is adopted to obtain the spectrum for the other stations.

Figure 5.1: - Comparison of observed and theoretical spectra for Sarhan station, where the
observed spectrum is corrected for a) regional Q but not site effects, b) station-specific Q but not
site effects, and c) regional Q and site effects[33]
56
In another experiment, the role of site amplification and attenuation term is studied
to estimate the scaling relation. In this context, the scaling relation of the seismic
moment (Mo ) and corner frequency (𝑓𝑐 ) is evaluated for Sarhan station. A total of
45 earthquakes recorded at Sarhan station are utilized for this numerical test. The
least-squares fit of Mo and 𝑓𝑐 provides the scaling relation for these two parameters.
In this exercise, the scaling relation for Mo and 𝑓𝑐 is computed for three cases, where
(1) Mo and 𝑓𝑐 are calculated from the spectrum corrected for the regional 𝑄𝑠 relation
but without site effects correction (Fig.5.2a), (2) these parameters are calculated
from the spectrum corrected for the 𝑄𝑠 relation of Sarhan station but without site
effects correction (Fig.5.3b), and (3) Mo and 𝑓𝑐 are calculated from the spectrum
corrected for the 𝑄𝑠 relation of Sarhan station along with site effects correction. The
scaling laws obtained in these three cases indicate that Mo is proportional to powers
of 𝑓𝑐 in the form Mo∝ 𝑓𝑐 -2.78, Mo∝ 𝑓𝑐 -3.36, and Mo∝ 𝑓𝑐 -3.05,

The scaling relation obtained by using the third case provides the closest agreement
with a scaling relation of the form 𝑀0 ∝ 𝑓𝑐−3 given by Aki (1967) as com-pared with
the other two cases. The coefficient of determination (R2) is also improved when
both the site effects and attenuation corrections are applied when obtaining this
scaling relation, as shown in Fig. 5.2. It can thus be concluded that site and path
effects play an important role in the establishment of this scaling relation.

• Site Effects and Attenuation Characteristics

The HVSR method is implemented to quantify the site effects in terms of H/V
curves. At each recording station, H/V curves are enumerated from each event, and
the average of these events provides the final site amplification curve. The resonance
frequency corresponding to the maximum amplification is computed at each
recording station (Fig.5.3). The results indicate that the variation in the resonance
frequency matches the geology of the study region. The prominent tectonic feature
that divides the study area is the South Tibetan Detachment System. Stations located
toward the northern side of the South Tibetan Detachment System have resonance
frequency in a low range as compared with stations on the southern side. This
variation may occur due to the presence of less compacted metasedimentary rocks
towards the northern side as compared with the southern side. The attenuation
characteristic is evaluated in terms of the S-wave quality factor by using the coda
normalization method. Various events are used at each recording station to compute
57
the quality factor; these Q values correspond to different central frequencies and
provide the frequency-dependent S-wave quality factor relations 𝑄𝑠 (𝑓) at each
individual recording station, as shown in Fig. 9. These individual relations for each
station are further used to establish a regional relationship of 𝑄𝑠 (𝑓) = (38 ± 5)𝑓 (1.1 ±
0.06)
for the Kinnaur region.

• Scaling Relations for Different Source Parameters

Various source parameters, i.e., the seismic moment (Mo), source radius (𝑟), stress
drop (𝜎), and moment magnitude (Mw), are calculated by using Eqs. (4.7, 4.8, 4.9,
4.10), respectively. The scaling relations among the various parameters are
developed for the study region as explained below.
➢ Seismic Moment versus Corner Frequency
The obtained seismic moment varies within the range of 2.73 × 1011 – 3.44 ×
1014 N-m, whereas the corner frequency varies between 1.3 and 7.9 Hz for the
earthquakes considered in this work. The least squares fit of these two
parameters for each event yields the following relationship (Fig. 5.4a):
𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑀𝑜 = 50 − 3.31𝑙𝑜𝑔(𝑓𝑐 ) (5.1)
The plot of the seismic moment versus the corner frequency is shown in Fig.
5.4(a). If the slope value is rounded off to -3, then the equation above provides
a scaling law of 𝑀0 ∝ 𝑓𝑐−3 . This law resembles the scaling relation of spectral
parameters given by Aki (1967) and is also consistent with that obtained for
different parts of the Himalayan region.

➢ Stress Drop versus Seismic Moment

The obtained stress drop values vary from 0.03 to 13 bar for the events
considered in this work. The average stress drop value is 1.61 ± 2.25 bar for
the present study region. The events used in this work provide low stress drops
because more than 75% of them have values below 2 bar. Most of these
earthquakes are shallow focused and located within the upper 20 km of the
crust, for which a low stress drop indicates brittle nature. The following
scaling law is developed between the seismic moment and stress drop (Fig.
5.4b) based on the data for the 75 events:
𝑙𝑜𝑔(∆𝜎) = 0.7𝑙𝑜𝑔(𝑀𝑜 ) − 32 (5.2)

58
➢ Stress Drop versus Apparent Stress
Two types of stress drop can be defined, that is evaluated before and after an
earthquake occurs (the static stress drop) and one related to the energy
released per seismic moment (the apparent stress drop, ∆𝜎𝑎 ). The relationship
between the apparent stress drop and static stress drop indicates an increasing
trend of apparent stress drop with increasing static stress drop (Fig. 5.4c).
𝑙𝑜𝑔(∆𝜎𝑎 ) = 0.71 𝑙𝑜𝑔(∆𝜎) − 1.68 (5.3)

➢ Radiated Energy versus Seismic Moment

The energy released by a seismic wave can be estimated from the energy flow
starting from its source, and the seismic moment is used to measure the size
of the earthquake. A plot of the radiated energy versus seismic moment is
shown in Fig.5.4d, thus providing the scaling relation between these two
parameters. The results indicate that, with increasing seismic moment, the
energy released also increases.
𝑙𝑜𝑔(𝐸𝑠 ) = 1.46 𝑙𝑜𝑔(𝑀0 ) − 54 (5.4)

Figure 5.4: - Different scaling laws established for the study region.[34]

59
5.2 Conclusion
A temporary local seismic network comprising 10 broadband seisimometers was
installed in the highly mountain region in the altitude range from 1369 – 1441 m in
the Kinnaur Himalaya region .sesmic data recorded during 2009 – 2014 were used
in the study. During that period ,a total 760 records from 75 earthquakes recorded
at a sampling rate of 0.01s (100HZ) . The 75 earthquakes with moment magnitude
in the range of 1.5 ≤ mw ≤3.6 were recordrd within the epicentral distance of 150
km.
For the estimation of the earthquake source characterstics, A total 75 local
eathquakes were recorded at 10 stations in the highly terrain of Kinnaur Himalaya
are utilized to compute earthquake source parameters. The site amplification is
determined by adopting the HVSR method. The best match between the observed
spectrum and theoretical spectrum is obtained using grid search method , thus
providind various sorce parameter such as sesmic moment , stress drop , moment
magnitude. These relations provide important inputs that could be used in
simulation for future earthquakes in the scenario .

60
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