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The 1967 M6.3 earthquake near the Koyna dam produced a surface rupture zone following a NNE-SSW structural trend. The rupture zone is documented in a report by the officers of the Geological Survey of India (GSI, 1968). The surface expressions of the rupture comprising fissures, en-echelon fractures, oblique or diagonal tensional cracks and mole tracks, termed here as the Koyna Fissure Zone (KFZ), were reported over a limited area, about 1000m in length and 200 m in width, located to the southeast of the Koyna dam between Donichawadi and Kadoli. The Koyna region was revisited recently for investigating the fissures, to help in locating potential sites for scientific deep drilling. Most of the reported surface deformation features are obliterated due to intense weathering and laterization of the exposed basalt surface during the past 48 years. However, careful field investigations in the Donichawadi-Kadoli area as well as in the surrounding region show that fissures and fractures are still preserved at several locations. The fissures trend between N30°W to N50°E, similar to that reported previously. The mean orientation of these fissures is 25°/89°-E. Transposition of one set of fissures by another set provide strong evidence for repeated brittle deformation in the area. Physical and microstructural studies on core samples of granite-gneiss basement rock underlying Deccan basalt in the area, obtained from a 1522 m deep borehole at Rasati, confirm the extension of the surface fissures to depth. Occurrences of secondary mineralization along these fissures indicate the percolation of water through fractures within basement granitoids. The evidences for water channelization may have direct implications for the occurrence of reservoir triggered earthquakes in the Koyna region for the past five decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Koyna–Warna region in western India is globally recognized as the premier site of reservoir triggered seismicity (RTS) associated with the Koyna and Warna reservoirs. The region is characterized by continuous seismic activity observed since several decades, including the world's largest triggered earthquake of M6.3 which occurred in Koyna in 1967. While the role of reservoirs in triggering earthquakes has been widely discussed, the actual tectonic mechanism controlling earthquake genesis in this region is hardly understood. The Koyna–Warna region is exclusively governed by earthquakes of strike–slip and normal fault mechanism distinct from the thrust faulting seen in other active zones in the Indian region. In the present study, a comprehensive catalog of 50 focal mechanism solutions of earthquakes that occurred during the last 45 years in the Koyna–Warna region is developed, both from previous literature and from moment tensor inversion studies by the authors using broadband data from a local seismic network operating since 2005. The seismicity and fault plane data have enabled precise delineation of trends of the major causative faults, which are further accentuated using the double-difference technique. Stress inversion of the focal mechanism data has provided the best fitting principal compressive and tensile stress field of the region, which in conjunction with the deciphered fault zones provides a feasible model of seismogenesis in this region. Based on the observed temporal variation of faulting mechanism a model of alternating cycles of predominantly strike–slip and normal faulting is proposed, which is attributed to a periodic peaking and relaxation respectively of the horizontal compressive stress field in this region due to the Indian plate collision with Eurasia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nonlinear response of concrete gravity dam-reservoir system has been investigated by conducting experiments on small scale model of Koyna dam on a horizontal shake table using sinusoidal chirp motions. Two dimensional models of non-overflow section of Koyna dam have been prepared in the laboratory with a scale ratio of 1:150. To satisfy the laws of similitude, an appropriate ratio of cement, sand, bentonite and water has been mixed to find the target properties of model dam. Dam models have been casted over a wooden base plate using a wooden mould. After setting and drying process the wooden mould has been removed and each dam model has been assembled with a reservoir model after placing them over a horizontal shake table. The interaction between dam and reservoir model has been made in such a manner, so that it can transmit the hydro dynamic force of reservoir water to the dam model without allowing any seepage of water across it. Experiments have been performed on the dam-reservoir system with empty and full reservoir water by applying horizontal sinusoidal chirp excitations to the shake table to observe the basic behaviour, crack formation, crack opening, sliding along crack planes and stability after crack formation of the dam model. The numerical analysis of the system has been carried out using ABAQUS 6.10 considering damage plasticity model. The effect of foundation has been neglected assuming a rigid dam foundation as the dam is placed on a rigid plate. The eigen frequencies of the dam model have been calculated and compared with experimental values to calibrate the analysis model. The crack propagation due to tensile damages is computed and the results are compared with the experimental results. The outcome of the response results shows the correctness of the developed experimental model of dam-reservoir system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report here the salient features of the recently concluded International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) workshop in Koyna, India. This workshop was a sequel to the earlier held ICDP workshop in Hyderabad and Koyna in 2011. A total of 49 experts (37 from India and 12 from 8 other countries) spent 3 days reviewing the work carried out during the last 3 years based on the recommendations of the 2011 workshop and suggesting the future course of action, including detailed planning for a full deep drilling proposal in Koyna, India. It was unanimously concluded that Koyna is one of the best sites anywhere in the world to investigate genesis of triggered earthquakes from near-field observations. A broad framework of the activities for the next phase leading to deep drilling has been worked out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A large mainshock may trigger numerous aftershocks within a short period, and large aftershocks have the potential to cause additional cumulative damage to structures. This paper investigates the effects and potential of aftershocks on the accumulated damage of concrete gravity dams. For that purpose, 30 as-recorded mainshock–aftershock seismic sequences are considered in this study, and a typical two-dimensional gravity dam model subjected to the selected as-recorded seismic sequences is modeled. A Concrete Damaged Plasticity (CDP) model including the strain hardening or softening behavior is selected for the concrete material. This model is used to evaluate the nonlinear dynamic response and the seismic damage process of Koyna dam under mainshock–aftershock seismic sequences. According to the characteristics of the cracking damage development, the local and global damage indices are both established to study the influence of strong aftershocks on the cumulative damage of concrete gravity dams. From the results of this investigation, it is found that the as-recorded sequences of ground motions have a significant effect on the accumulated damage and on the design of concrete gravity dams. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In 2000, the region of the Koyna-Warna water reservoirs in West India was hit by two strong earthquakes, which occurred six months apart and had magnitudes M > 5. The Koyna-Warna seismic zone is a typical region of induced seismicity with a pronounced correlation between seismicity and water level variations in the reservoirs. This indicates that the stress level in the region is close to critical; thus, insignificant variations in stress caused by the variations in the water level may trigger a strong earthquake. In order to study the preparatory processes in the sources of the induced earthquakes, in this paper we analyze the seismic catalogue for the Koyna-Warna region before a pair of strong earthquakes of 2000. The induced seismicity is found to exhibit prognostic variations, which are typical of preparation of tectonic earthquakes and indicative of the formation of metastable source zones of future earthquakes. Based on the obtained results, we suggest that initiation of failure in these metastable zones within the region of induced seismicity could have been caused by the external impacts associated with water level variations in the reservoirs and by the internal processes of avalanche unstable crack propagation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Exploratory hydrochemical studies were initiated in Koyna, India, to examine the chemical changes in the deep groundwater due to seismic activity, 2months before the occurrence of a M 5.1 earthquake on 14th March 2005. A few deep wells (100–250m), out of a dozen, recorded hydrochemical anomalies induced by this earthquake, and the anomalies continued for the next 3months. Periodical hydrochemical data of one of the wells indicated a linear increase in Cl−, , F− and depleted δ18O from August 2006 to March 2009, though there is no long term change in groundwater level (except short duration seasonal change). The observed linear change is hypothesised as an effect of aquifer response to seismic stress related to an impending earthquake of M ⩾5. The observed temporal change in different chemical concentrations projected linearly to the levels of March 2005 and estimated the time of the impending earthquake (the same as that of March 2005 event) as 2011/12. Further, the time projection also made based on exponential increase in hydrochemistry after 3/2009, advanced the possible time window to 2010/11. This hypothesis was realized on 12 December 2009 with an earthquake of M 5.1. Even the simple arithmetic mean of the 45-a earthquake (M >5) history of Koyna indicates a recurrence time of ∼5.4a. To account for the observed temporal hydrochemical changes, a model, based on mixing of two aquifer waters caused by seismic stress, was proposed. Hourly monitoring of electrical conductivity (EC) of groundwater also recorded conductivity changes induced by the M 5.1 earthquake on 12th December 2009. A very important observation that emerges from this study is that the cyclic change in subsurface stress leads to earthquakes. Continuous monitoring of EC may be helpful in visualizing the effect of tectonic forces on groundwater chemistry. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Different procedures are compared for the three-dimensional seismic cracking analysis of gravity and arch dams during strong earthquakes. The fracture procedures include the extended finite element method with cohesive constitutive relations, crack band finite element method with plastic-damage relations, and the finite element Drucker−Prager elasto-plastic model. These procedures are used to analyze the nonlinear dynamic response of Koyna dam to the 1967 Koyna earthquake and the seismic cracking of the Dagangshan arch dam subjected to design earthquake. The cracking process and profiles of the two dams using the three different procedures are compared. The applicability and the suitability of the three procedures for seismic cracking analysis of gravity and arch dams are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper proposes a new algorithm for modeling the nonlinear seismic behavior of fractured concrete gravity dams considering dam–reservoir interaction effects. In this algorithm, the cracked concrete gravity dam is modeled by distinct element (DE) method, which has been widely used for the analysis of blocky media. Dynamic response of the reservoir is obtained using boundary element (BE) method. Formulation and various computational aspects of the proposed staggered hybrid approach are thoroughly discussed. To the authors'' knowledge, this is the first study of a hybrid DE–BE approach for seismic analysis of cracked gravity dam–reservoir systems. The validity of the algorithm is discussed by developing a two-dimensional computer code and comparing results obtained from the proposed hybrid DE–BE approach with those reported in the literature. For this purpose, a few problems of seismic excitations in frequency- and time-domains, are presented using the proposed approach. Present results agree well with the results from other numerical methods. Furthermore, the cracked Koyna Dam is analyzed, including dam–reservoir interaction effects with focus on the nonlinear behavior due to its top profile crack. Results of the present study are compared to available results in the literature in which the dam–reservoir interaction were simplified by added masses. It is shown that the nonlinear analysis that includes dam–reservoir interaction gives downstream sliding and rocking response patterns that are somehow different from that of the case when the dam–reservoir interaction is approximated employing added masses. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The seismic activity in the Koyna area is clearly related to the water impoundment of the Koyna dam in 1962, and has reached a remarkable level with the occurrence of a major event of magnitude 6.3 in 1967 December 10. We present a homogeneous poroelastic model based on analysis of the first eight years of seismicity, which aims to link the water-level fluctuations of the reservoir with the seismicity. Starting from a discretized lake, we calculate the stress field resulting from the water-level fluctuations and the pore pressure changes due to the undrained and the diffusive responses of the medium. Then, we compare the Coulomb stress variations with a set of relocated seismic events. We find that more than 80 per cent of the relocated events before the M6.3 event are well described by this poroelastic model, leading us to derive a suitable diffusivity . Then, we model the response of the system after the M6.3 event of 1967 December 10, by comparing the variation of the Coulomb stress field with the spatio-temporal characteristics of the relocated post-seismic events and the decay of aftershocks with time. We find that compared to before the main event a tenfold increase in hydraulic diffusivity is required to satisfactorily describe the aftershock decay with the appropriate Omori exponent. Although this increase in diffusivity may be physically related to the main shock we also note that events later than 9 months after the main shock are not well explained. We therefore propose an alternative hydrological model, which involves two compartments of contrasting diffusivities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]