A study of Palnadu earthquake sequence in the Cuddapah basin and its tectonic implications

Abstract

On January 26, 2020, a moderate-sized earthquake (ML ~ 4.6) located in the Palnadu sub-basin of Cuddapah basin was felt both in the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The earthquakes prior and after the ML 4.6 are located close to the thrust and along the periphery of the backwaters of the Pulichintala Reservoir. About 965 earthquakes in the magnitude range of 0.1–4.6 ML have been located by seismological network. The epicentral parameters obtained from double difference technique illuminated a steep seismogenic structure extending up to 8 km depth using a minimum 1-D velocity model. The b-value estimate is 0.82 for a completeness magnitude of Mc 1.8 and could be associated with the intraplate event having a longer recurrence time. The focal mechanism solution obtained from waveform inversion reveals a pure double-couple mechanism of a strike-slip motion with a reverse component on a N–S trending focal plane. The spatial distribution of the earthquake sequence and fault plane solution of the main event are close to a thrust which is the most likely source region of the main-shock.