Seismically active Katmandu region in store for larger earthquake

Phys.org ^ | 12/05/2016 | Steve Wesnousky of the University of Nevada

[JimSEA]

An earthquake much more powerful and damaging than last year's 7.8 magnitude quake could rock Katmandu and the Himalayan Frontal Fault, an international team of seismic experts has concluded. The unsettling news comes after field research and analysis in the year following the 2015 Gorkha earthquake, which killed 9,000 people and destroyed 600,000 structures throughout the region.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2016-12-seismically-katmandu-region-larger-earthquake.html#jCp

"We conducted a number of paleoearthquake studies in the vicinity of Katmandu in the past year, digging trenches and studying soils and faultlines looking back over the past 2,000 years," Wesnousky said. "Coupled with the historical record, it's apparent the faults are capable of earthquakes far greater than the Gorkha earthquake." Last year's earthquake and aftershocks could be viewed as a warning of a more powerful earthquake that could rock the region with even more devastating effects. The team's observations shows the Tribeni site is probably approaching or is in the later stages of strain accumulation before a large earthquake, which could produce 15- to 30-foot high fractures in the earth.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2016-12-seismically-katmandu-region-larger-earthquake.html#jCp

[JimSEA]

Please do go to the readily accessible source and read this brief article on a truly large and important subject. We can only see the remnants of a continual collision like this in incomplete but important fragments found in the Appalachian Mountain area, Newfoundland, Scotland (where much of the birth of Geology took place. There are other and older hints but the Himalayas and related ranges are the only place we can see it all. It's hard for me to visualize the complex of primary, secondary and tertiary faults here. The potential for massive loss of life and destruction has its evidence in the rock and soil at the geologist.

The beginning of learning is what is being seen here. These hypotheses need a lot more field work and lab work before any regional models can be tested. That and time. This is as close to living science as geology gets.

[Jack Hammer]

Better climb Everest while it’s still the world’s tallest mountain. It may soon be shorter than K2.

[dfwgator]

Bob Seger may want to reconsider.

[JimSEA]

Hah! However I can still relate to his thoughts. “I’m going to Kathmandu! that’s what I’m really going to do!”

[A CA Guy]

That will knock a lot of snow down.

[JimSEA]

A little more localized version!

Further evidence that the evil of rap/Hip Hop spreads worldwide along with the mindless predatory violence it promotes.

[Bodega]

This was a very well written article. Plate tectonics are not normally breakfast fare but this article might be for some families.

[JimSEA]

It was, wasn’t it. The promised research will help in numerous locations worldwide.