Abstract
This study is aimed to elucidate individual fault response and peculiar earthquake characteristics in complex seismotectonic environment of southern Pakistan (Balochistan, Sindh and frontal offshore areas). The southern Pakistan is a seismic-melange wherein earthquake prone sources are diversified and closely associated with active plate margins. The spatial patterns of seismicity are significant in reckoning seismic potential of active fault lineaments in intraplate cohorts of Arabian, Eurasian and Indian plates. The tectonic earthquakes during the period of 325 B.C to February 2020 are compiled in a catalog. This updated catalog has been thoroughly processed by standard procedures necessary for magnitude coherency, main shocks declustering, magnitude completeness etc. Since, the faulty blocks are extending beyond international borders, a wide region is outlined for cataloging and thorough screening of fault lines. The fault lineaments are digitized after geo-referencing of structural and tectonic maps. A rigorous effort is made to review literature to gather allied data sets of plate kinematics, GPS constraints across faulty blocks and slip-sense during major events. Individual fault lines are examined carefully to discriminate seismicity yield by considering their geometry and influence of seismotectonic settings. The seismicity characteristics of fault lines are used to ascribe ‘seismicity index’ that helped to rank potential faults from I (least active) to V (highly active). Kernel density maps are prepared to allure vulnerable pockets of the fault lineaments for specific magnitude classes. Seismicity Index and Kernel density models are significant to analyze spatial changes in potential magnitude strength which may be pertinent for urban planners and developers to design earthquake resistant buildings in study area.
Highlights
The plate kinematics contribute to the development of elastic stresses/release of elastic strain along seismotectonic margins of drifting lithospheric mosaic and overlying sedimentary cover
It is revealed that the epicenters of earthquake events lie on intraplate regions of Eurasian plate were in majority (~60% of the total events) whereas the Arabian plate and Indian plate contribute 22% and 18%, respectively
It was speculated that the interplate margins of plates with the Eurasian plate are feeding more seismic fuel as seismic stresses to promulgate in intraplate regions of assorted lithospheric mosaic
Summary
The plate kinematics contribute to the development of elastic stresses/release of elastic strain along seismotectonic margins of drifting lithospheric mosaic and overlying sedimentary cover. The southern Pakistan is a seismic-mélange wherein earthquake engendering mechanisms are closely associated with the active tectonic margins and their faulted cohorts. The Awaran earthquake of 2013 was the strongest earthquake which shaken the southern Pakistan and Iran with hefty amplitudes (Ul-Hadi et al, 2013; Ali and Khan, 2015). The epicenters of these seismic events were found closely located to the vulnerable parts of known active faults of the Makran and Sindh region. It is necessary to study the seismicity patterns in close association with the seismotectonic features i.e. the plate margins and geological faults lines of southern Pakistan
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