Ground-penetrating radar investigations along hajipur fault: Himalayan frontal thrust - Attempt to identify near subsurface displacement, NW Himalaya, India

Abstract

The study area falls in the mesoseismal zone of 1905 Kangra earthquake (Mw 7.8). To identify appropriate trenching site for paleoseismic investigation and to understand the faulting geometry, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey was conducted across a Hajipur Fault (HF2) scarp, a branching out fault of Himalayan Frontal Thrust (HFT) in a foot hill zone of NW Himalaya. Several 2D and 3D profiles were collected using 200 MHz antenna with SIR 3000 unit. A 2D GPR profile collected across the HF2 scarp revealed prominent hyperbolas and discontinuous-warped reflections, suggesting a metal pipe and a zone of deformation along a low-angle thrust fault, respectively. The 3D profile revealed remarkable variation in dip of the fault plane and pattern of deformation along the strike of the fault. © 2012 Javed N. Malik et al.