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The Bhutan Himalayas: Insights into Himalayan Formation from Seismic Data

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The Bhutan Himalayas: Insights into Himalayan Formation from Seismic Data

By Aaaron Velasco

Abstract:
We processed data from a five station temporary seismic network set up from January 2002 until March 2003 within the Kingdom of Bhutan. Initial results show that the region is more active than previously identified. We detected, associated, and located approximately 2100 teleseismic, regional, and local events discovering that approximately 900 were not in the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Earthquake Data Report (EDR) catalog. We further study these 900 events by supplementing our data with Global Seismic Network (GSN) stations in the region. We review each solution, manually timing the P- and S-waves for each event, invert for event locations and an average 1-D velocity model for the region, and calculate local magnitudes. We find a high amount of micro seismicity throughout the crust beneath the network, and that our velocity model is comparable to other studies. Our results show active structures within the Indian Crust beneath Bhutan, suggesting that the India plate is being actively faulted at mid-crust depths.