Study on Coulomb Stress Triggering of the April 2015 M7.8 Nepal Earthquake Sequence

In April 2015, a M7.8 earthquake occurred less than one month before a M7.3 earthquake near Kodari, Nepal. The Nepal earthquake sequences also include four larger (M > 6) aftershocks. To reveal the interrelation between the main shock and the aftershocks, we check the role of coseismic coulomb st...

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Main Authors: Jianchao Wu, Qing Hu, Weijie Li, Dongning Lei
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2016-01-01
Series:International Journal of Geophysics
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/7378920
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author Jianchao Wu
Qing Hu
Weijie Li
Dongning Lei
author_facet Jianchao Wu
Qing Hu
Weijie Li
Dongning Lei
author_sort Jianchao Wu
collection DOAJ
description In April 2015, a M7.8 earthquake occurred less than one month before a M7.3 earthquake near Kodari, Nepal. The Nepal earthquake sequences also include four larger (M > 6) aftershocks. To reveal the interrelation between the main shock and the aftershocks, we check the role of coseismic coulomb stress triggering on aftershocks that follow the M7.8 main shock. Based on the focal mechanisms of the aftershocks and source models of the main shock, the coulomb failure stress changes on both of the focal mechanism nodal planes are calculated. In addition, the coulomb stress changes on the focal sources of each aftershock are also calculated. A large proportion of the M > 6 aftershocks occurred in positive coulomb stress areas triggered by the M7.8 main shock. The secondary triggering effect of the M7.3 aftershock is also found in this paper. More specifically, the M7.3 aftershock promoted failure on the rupture plane of the M6.3 aftershock. Therefore, we may conclude that the majority of larger aftershocks, which accumulated positive coulomb stress changes during the sequence, were promoted or triggered by the main shock failure. It suggests that coulomb stress triggering contributed to the evolution of the Nepal M7.8 earthquake sequence.
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spelling doaj-art-df9b639e4df14493a244346c4d20da822025-08-20T02:21:09ZengWileyInternational Journal of Geophysics1687-885X1687-88682016-01-01201610.1155/2016/73789207378920Study on Coulomb Stress Triggering of the April 2015 M7.8 Nepal Earthquake SequenceJianchao Wu0Qing Hu1Weijie Li2Dongning Lei3Key Laboratory of Earthquake Geodesy, Institute of Seismology, CEA, Wuhan 430071, ChinaKey Laboratory of Earthquake Geodesy, Institute of Seismology, CEA, Wuhan 430071, ChinaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204, USAKey Laboratory of Earthquake Geodesy, Institute of Seismology, CEA, Wuhan 430071, ChinaIn April 2015, a M7.8 earthquake occurred less than one month before a M7.3 earthquake near Kodari, Nepal. The Nepal earthquake sequences also include four larger (M > 6) aftershocks. To reveal the interrelation between the main shock and the aftershocks, we check the role of coseismic coulomb stress triggering on aftershocks that follow the M7.8 main shock. Based on the focal mechanisms of the aftershocks and source models of the main shock, the coulomb failure stress changes on both of the focal mechanism nodal planes are calculated. In addition, the coulomb stress changes on the focal sources of each aftershock are also calculated. A large proportion of the M > 6 aftershocks occurred in positive coulomb stress areas triggered by the M7.8 main shock. The secondary triggering effect of the M7.3 aftershock is also found in this paper. More specifically, the M7.3 aftershock promoted failure on the rupture plane of the M6.3 aftershock. Therefore, we may conclude that the majority of larger aftershocks, which accumulated positive coulomb stress changes during the sequence, were promoted or triggered by the main shock failure. It suggests that coulomb stress triggering contributed to the evolution of the Nepal M7.8 earthquake sequence.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/7378920
spellingShingle Jianchao Wu
Qing Hu
Weijie Li
Dongning Lei
Study on Coulomb Stress Triggering of the April 2015 M7.8 Nepal Earthquake Sequence
International Journal of Geophysics
title Study on Coulomb Stress Triggering of the April 2015 M7.8 Nepal Earthquake Sequence
title_full Study on Coulomb Stress Triggering of the April 2015 M7.8 Nepal Earthquake Sequence
title_fullStr Study on Coulomb Stress Triggering of the April 2015 M7.8 Nepal Earthquake Sequence
title_full_unstemmed Study on Coulomb Stress Triggering of the April 2015 M7.8 Nepal Earthquake Sequence
title_short Study on Coulomb Stress Triggering of the April 2015 M7.8 Nepal Earthquake Sequence
title_sort study on coulomb stress triggering of the april 2015 m7 8 nepal earthquake sequence
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/7378920
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