@article{fdi:010070293,
  title = {{S}egmentation of the {H}imalayan megathrust around the {G}orkha earthquake (25 {A}pril 2015) in {N}epal},
  author = {{M}ugnier, {J}. {L}. and {J}ouanne, {F}. and {B}hattarai, {R}. and {C}ortes-{A}randa, {J}. and {G}ajurel, {A}. and {L}eturmy, {P}. and {R}obert, {X}avier and {U}preti, {B}. and {V}assallo, {R}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{W}e put the 25 {A}pril 2015 earthquake of {N}epal ({M}w 7.9) into its structural geological context in order to specify the role of the segmentation of the {H}imalayan megathrust. {T}he rupture is mainly located {NW} of {K}athmandu, at a depth of 13-15 km on a flat portion of the {M}ain {H}imalayan {T}hrust ({MHT}) that dips towards the {N}-{NE} by 7-10 degrees. {T}he northern bound of the main rupture corresponds to the transition towards a steeper crustal ramp. {T}his ramp, which is partly coupled during the interseismic period, is only locally affected by the earthquake. {T}he southern bound of the rupture was near the leading edge of the {L}esser {H}imalaya antiformal duplex and near the frontal footwall ramp of the upper {N}awakot duplex. {T}he rupture has been affected by transversal structures: on the western side, the {J}udi lineament separates the main rupture zone from the nucleation area; on the eastern side, the {G}aurishankar lineament separates the 25 {A}pril 2015 rupture from the 12 {M}ay 2015 ({M}w 7.2) rupture. {T}he origin of these lineaments is very complex: they are probably linked to pre-{H}imalayan faults that extend into the {I}ndian shield beneath the {MHT}. {T}hese inheritedtaults induce transverse warping of the upper lithosphere beneath the {MHT}, control the location of lateral ramps of the thrust system and concentrate the hanging wall deformation at the lateral edge of the ruptures. {T}he {MHT} is therefore segmented by stable barriers that define at least five patches in {C}entral {N}epal. {T}hese barriers influence the extent of the earthquake ruptures. {F}or the last two centuries: the 1833 ({M}w 7.6) earthquake was rather similar in extent to the 2015 event but its rupture propagated south-westwards from an epicentre located {NE} of {K}athmandu; the patch south of {K}athmandu was probably affected by at least three earthquakes of {M}w 7 that followed the 1833 event a few days later or 33 years (1866 event, {M}w 7.2) later; the 1934 earthquake ({M}w 8.4) had an epicentre similar to 170 km east of {K}athmandu, may have propagated as far as {K}athmandu and jumped the {G}aurishankar lineament. {T}his combined structural approach and earthquake study allows us to propose that the {MHT} in the central/eastern {H}imalaya is segmented by stable barriers that define barrier-type earthquake families. {H}owever for each individual earthquake within a family, the rupture histories could be different. {F}urthermore, the greatest earthquakes could have broken the barriers and affected the patches of several families. {T}he concept of a regular recurrence of characteristic earthquakes is therefore misleading to describe the succession of {H}imalayan earthquakes.},
  keywords = {{M}egathrust ; {B}arriers ; {D}uplex ; {H}imalayan earthquakes ; {K}athmandu ; {S}tructural geology ; {NEPAL}, {KATHMANDU} ; {HIMALAYA}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{J}ournal of {A}sian {E}arth {S}ciences},
  volume = {141},
  numero = {{SI}},
  pages = {236--252},
  ISSN = {1367-9120},
  year = {2017},
  DOI = {10.1016/j.jseaes.2017.01.015},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010070293},
}