Source parameters of the 2001 Mw 7.7 Bhuj earthquake, Gujarat, India, aftershock sequence

Abstract

We present the estimated source parameters from SH-wave spectral modeling of selected 463 aftershocks (2002–06) of the 26 January 2001 Bhuj earthquake, the well-recorded largest continental intraplate earthquake. The estimated seismic moment (Mo), corner frequency (fc), source radius (r) and stress drop (Δσ) for aftershocks of moment magnitude 1.7 to 5.6 range from 3.55×1011 to 2.84×1017 N-m, 1.3 to 11.83 Hz, 107 to 1515 m and 0.13 to 26.7 MPa, respectively, while the errors in fc and Δσ are found to be 1.1 Hz and 1.1 MPa, respectively. We also notice that the near surface attenuation factor (k) values vary from 0.02 to 0.03. Our estimates reveal that the stress drop values show more scatter (Mo0.5 to 1 is proportional to Δσ) toward the larger Mo values (≥1014.5 N-m), while they show a more systematic nature (Mo3 is proportional to Δσ) for smaller Mo values (<1014.5 N-m), which can be explained as a consequence of a nearly constant rupture radius for smaller aftershocks in the region. The large stress drops (= 10 MPa) associated with events on the north Wagad fault (at 15–30 km depth) and Gedi fault (at 3–15 km depth) can be attributed to the large stress developed at hypocentral depths as a result of high fluid pressure and the presence of mafic intrusive bodies beneath these two fault zones.