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The Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand areas are known for their high seismic activity in India. According to the Bureau of Indian Standards, the areas are situated in seismic zones IV and V, and have the potential to produce small to large earthquakes. These areas have also seen significant seismic events in the past. To accurately and reliably estimate the seismic hazard and simulate the characteristics of strong ground motion in the region, it is essential to evaluate the source characteristics of earthquakes and their scaling relationships. Our investigation involved the estimation of earthquake source parameters and high-frequency spectrum decay parameters using 1059 seismograms, corresponding to 247 earthquake events with magnitudes ranging from 3.0 to 5.5 that occurred in the Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand regions of the Northwest Himalaya between 2010 and 2020. The classic Brune’s model is used to estimate source parameters. The relationship can be expressed as M0=2×1015fc-2.316\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}\usepackage{amsmath}\usepackage{wasysym}\usepackage{amsfonts}\usepackage{amssymb}\usepackage{amsbsy}\usepackage{mathrsfs}\usepackage{upgreek}\setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt}\begin{document}$${M}_{0} = 2 \times {10}^{15}{{f}_{c}}^{-2.316}$$\end{document} for Himachal Pradesh and M0=2×1016fc-3.445\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}\usepackage{amsmath}\usepackage{wasysym}\usepackage{amsfonts}\usepackage{amssymb}\usepackage{amsbsy}\usepackage{mathrsfs}\usepackage{upgreek}\setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt}\begin{document}$${M}_{0} = 2 \times {10}^{16}{{f}_{c}}^{-3.445}$$\end{document} for Uttarakhand region, which agrees with previous studies given for the study region, providing vital insights into tectonics and structural heterogeneity beneath the respective regions of Northwest Himalaya. Our analysis revealed that for earthquakes in Himachal Pradesh, the source radius of circular fault ranges from 42 to 771 m, whereas, for events in the Uttarakhand region, it varies from 48 to 437 m. Additionally, the seismic moment ranged from 2 × 1011 N-m to 9.93 × 1015 N-m for Himachal Pradesh and 1.11 × 1011 N-m to 1.40 × 1016 N-m for Uttarakhand events. An increasing trend in stress drop is observed, varying from 0.0026 MPa to 8.66 MPa for Himachal Pradesh and 0.0014 MPa to 9.51 MPa for Uttarakhand, within the similar range of seismic moment. Moreover, the study highlighted that the estimation of κ and fmax\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}\usepackage{amsmath}\usepackage{wasysym}\usepackage{amsfonts}\usepackage{amssymb}\usepackage{amsbsy}\usepackage{mathrsfs}\usepackage{upgreek}\setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt}\begin{document}$${f}_{max}$$\end{document} is influenced by both source characteristics and propagation path, with the source exerting a significant impact. A detailed analysis of the data suggests that the differences in how earthquakes start and fade in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are due to the complex geological structures and the intricate earthquake processes in these regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Landslide size controls the destructive power of landslides and is related to the frequency of occurrence, with larger landslides being less frequent than smaller ones. For this reason, the analysis of landslide size is essential for landslide hazard assessment. We analyse six earthquake-induced landslide inventories with earthquake magnitude ranging between 6.6 and 7.9 Mw (Papua New Guinea, 1993; ChiChi 1999; Northridge, 1994; Niigata–Chuetsu, 2004; Iwate–Miyagi Nairiku, 2008; Wenchuan, 2008). For each inventory, we developed magnitude–frequency curves to analyse the size distribution of landslides as a function of ground motion, distance from the seismic source (both fault trace and epicentre), local relief, and lithology. For three earthquakes, we observed a clear relationship between the landslide size and ground motion, with larger landslides associated with higher ground motion. We investigate different possible causes for such observation, and propose that the main mechanical reason is that stronger shaking induces higher stresses that may overcome the strength, which increases with depth, triggering larger landslides. We also show that landslide size decreases with distance from the fault trace, whereas, this trend is not clear for distance from the epicentre. Local relief does not seem a first order control on landslide size for the earthquake-induced landslides considered here. Some lithologies do influence landslide size, but we were unable to identify a general behaviour for different lithologies. Highlights • Ground motion modulates landslide size on a given landscape, with a tendency of larger landslides with stronger ground motion. • The relative abundance of larger landslides decreases moving away from the seismic faults trace. • The influence of ground motion on landslide size may be affected by local morphological and lithological conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we focus on the region between Gorringe Bank and the Horseshoe Fault located in the SW Iberia margin, which is believed to be the site of the great 1755 earthquake. We model ground motions using an extended source located near the Horseshoe scarp to generate synthetic waveforms using a wave propagation code, based on the finite-difference method. We compare the simulated waveforms, for the Algarve Basin and the Lower Tagus Valley Basin (Portugal), using a 3-D velocity model down to the Moho discontinuity with a simple 1-D layered model. The radiated wave field is very sensitive to the velocity model and a small number of source parameters, in particular, the rupture directivity. The rupture directivity, the strike direction and the fault dimensions are critical to the azimuthal distribution of the maximum amplitude oscillations. We show that the use of a stratified 1-D model is inappropriate in SW Iberia, where sources are located in the oceanic domain and receivers in the continental domain. The crustal structure varies dramatically along the ray paths, with large-scale heterogeneities of low or high velocities. Moreover, combined with the geometric limitations inherent to the region, a strong trade-off between several parameters is often observed; this is particularly critical when studying moderate magnitude earthquakes ( M < 6), which constitute the bulk of the seismic catalogue in SW Iberia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Delhi, the capital of India, is prone to severe seismic hazards, not only from local events but also from Himalayan earthquakes at distances of 250-300 km. Standard techniques are not sufficiently reliable to completely characterize the seismic hazards in this case due to the difficulty of predicting the occurrence of earthquakes (frequency-magnitude relations) and of properly treating the propagation of their effects (attenuation laws), especially their long-period components. In order to give a sound description of the seismic ground motion due to an earthquake in such a given range of distances (and magnitudes), we use modelling techniques developed from physics of the seismic source generation and propagation processes. Such models take into account the directivity effect of rupture propagation and the attenuation of (long-period) ground motions. The generated ground motion scenarios permit us to build a very important knowledge base to be fruitfully used by civil engineers, since long period ground motions, especially if amplified by deep sedimentary basins, can represent a severe threat for large scale structures (e.g. lifelines and bridges) and tall buildings, which are widespread in fast-growing megacities. In this study, we simulate the ground motion, at bedrock level, in Delhi city, for an earthquake scenario corresponding to a source of Mw = 8.0 located in the central seismic gap of Himalayas, at an epicentral distance of about 300 km from Delhi city. By means of several parametric studies, we simulate the time histories using Size Scaled Point Source, Space and Time Scaled Point Source and Extended Source models. Together with the complete time histories (displacements, velocities and accelerations, from which the peak amplitudes have been extracted), we have also used the displacement response spectrum to characterize the seismic input at Delhi. Not only is the displacement response spectrum of great significance to modern displacement-based design engineering approaches, but it is probably the best parameter by which to characterize the destructiveness potential of earthquakes located at such great distances from the target sites (of the order of 300 km), since the energy of the seismic input is mainly concentrated at long periods (in general, greater than 1 s) and it cannot be determined by straightforward integration of velocity or acceleration response spectra. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]