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Structural fabric over the seismically active Kachchh rift basin, India: insight from world gravity model 2012

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Abstract

The Kachchh rift basin (KRB), located in the western continental margin of India, is very important due to repeated large magnitude occurrence of intraplate earthquakes. The present study elucidates the subsurface structural features using wavelength filtering, total horizontal derivative (THD) and 2.5 dimensional (2.5D) density modelling of the gravity data. Power spectrum analysis of the gravity data gives the cut-off wavelength of 100 km that has been used for wavelength filtering for regional-residual separation. The residual gravity anomaly significantly enhances the shallow features (like Allah-Bund fault, Kachchh mainland uplift, Wagad uplift, and Pachham uplift) and gives an NW–SE subsurface structural trend. The predominant direction for major lineaments derived by the THD of gravity data shows the ENE–WSW as well as NE–SW and NW–SE directions. The 2.5D density model of the regional gravity anomaly reveals the presence of high-density magmatic underplating layer and intrusive mafic body in the lower crust that is in accordance with the previous studies. The regional slope of the Moho in the KRB is towards the SW direction. An intrusive mafic body in the lower crust and volcanic plugs in the upper crust act as stress concentrator which is responsible for seismicity in the KRB. Several new lineaments have been identified based on the present study, which may be accountable for seismicity over the different part of KRB.

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Source: Biswas 2005; ISR earthquake catalogue). Digits in the figure represent the vertical deformation rate in mm/year (after Choudhury et al. 2012; Rastogi et al. 2012; Sreejith and Rastogi 2013). Derived deformation rate (represented by red digits) at the Global Positioning System sites (represented by black triangle) obtained during 2009–2015 (after Dumka et al. 2019). Red stars show the epicentral location of Bhuj 2001, Anjar 1956 and Allah-Bund 1819 earthquakes. c Synoptic rose diagram of the THD lineaments representing lineament trends over the entire study area

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Acknowledgements

The author is thankful to Director General Dr M. Ravi Kumar for his encouragement and permission to publish this work. AKC thanks Dr Sumer Chopra, Director, ISR and Mr Saurabh Sharma, Well Planner, AlMansoori Petroleum Services for their valuable suggestions during the preparation of the manuscript. International Gravimetric Bureau (BGI) is acknowledged for providing WGM 2012 gravity data. The author is also grateful to the editor Dr. Gunter Dörhöfer and three anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments that significantly enhance the quality of the work.

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    Avinash Kumar Chouhan

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Chouhan, A.K. Structural fabric over the seismically active Kachchh rift basin, India: insight from world gravity model 2012. Environ Earth Sci 79, 316 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-020-09068-2

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