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Earthquakes are known to have occurred in Indian subcontinent from ancient times. This paper presents the results of seismic hazard analysis of India (6°-38°N and 68°-98°E) based on the deterministic approach using latest seismicity data (up to 2010). The hazard analysis was done using two different source models (linear sources and point sources) and 12 well recognized attenuation relations considering varied tectonic provinces in the region. The earthquake data obtained from different sources were homogenized and declustered and a total of 27,146 earthquakes of moment magnitude 4 and above were listed in the study area. The sesismotectonic map of the study area was prepared by considering the faults, lineaments and the shear zones which are associated with earthquakes of magnitude 4 and above. A new program was developed in MATLAB for smoothing of the point sources. For assessing the seismic hazard, the study area was divided into small grids of size 0.1° × 0.1° (approximately 10 × 10 km), and the hazard parameters were calculated at the center of each of these grid cells by considering all the seismic sources within a radius of 300 to 400 km. Rock level peak horizontal acceleration (PHA) and spectral accelerations for periods 0.1 and 1 s have been calculated for all the grid points with a deterministic approach using a code written in MATLAB. Epistemic uncertainty in hazard definition has been tackled within a logic-tree framework considering two types of sources and three attenuation models for each grid point. The hazard evaluation without logic tree approach also has been done for comparison of the results. The contour maps showing the spatial variation of hazard values are presented in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Indian subcontinent is characterized by various tectonic units viz., Himalayan collision zone in North, Indo-Burmese arc in north-east, failed rift zones in its interior in Peninsular Indian shield and Andaman Sumatra trench in south-east Indian Territory. During the last about 100 years, the country has witnessed four great and several major earthquakes. Soon after the occurrence of the first great earthquake, the Shillong earthquake ( M: 8.1) in 1897, efforts were started to assess the seismic hazard in the country. The first such attempt was made by Geological Survey of India in 1898 and since then considerable progress has been made. The current seismic zonation map prepared and published by Bureau of Indian Standards, broadly places seismic risk in different parts of the country in four major zones. However, this map is not sufficient for the assessment of area-specific seismic risks, necessitating detailed seismic zoning, that is, microzonation for earthquake disaster mitigation and management. Recently, seismic microzonation studies are being introduced in India, and the first level seismic microzonation has already been completed for selected urban centres including, Jabalpur, Guwahati, Delhi, Bangalore, Ahmadabad, Dehradun, etc. The maps prepared for these cities are being further refined on larger scales as per the requirements, and a plan has also been firmed up for taking up microzonation of 30 selected cities, which lie in seismic zones V and IV and have a population density of half a million. The paper highlights the efforts made in India so far towards seismic hazard assessment as well as the future road map for such studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a detailed study on the seismic pattern of the state of Karnataka and also quantifies the seismic hazard for the entire state. In the present work, historical and instrumental seismicity data for Karnataka (within 300 km from Karnataka political boundary) were compiled and hazard analysis was done based on this data. Geographically, Karnataka forms a part of peninsular India which is tectonically identified as an intraplate region of Indian plate. Due to the convergent movement of the Indian plate with the Eurasian plate, movements are occurring along major intraplate faults resulting in seismic activity of the region and hence the hazard assessment of this region is very important. Apart from referring to seismotectonic atlas for identifying faults and fractures, major lineaments in the study area were also mapped using satellite data. The earthquake events reported by various national and international agencies were collected until 2009. Declustering of earthquake events was done to remove foreshocks and aftershocks. Seismic hazard analysis was done for the state of Karnataka using both deterministic and probabilistic approaches incorporating logic tree methodology. The peak ground acceleration (PGA) at rock level was evaluated for the entire state considering a grid size of 0.05° × 0.05°. The attenuation relations proposed for stable continental shield region were used in evaluating the seismic hazard with appropriate weightage factors. Response spectra at rock level for important Tier II cities and Bangalore were evaluated. The contour maps showing the spatial variation of PGA values at bedrock are presented in this work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peninsular India (PI), which lies south of 24°N latitude, has experienced several devastating earthquakes in the past. However, very few strong motion records are available for developing attenuation relations for ground acceleration, required by engineers to arrive at rational design response spectra for construction sites and cities in PI. Based on a well-known seismological model, the present paper statistically simulates ground motion in PI to arrive at an empirical relation for estimating 5% damped response spectra, as a function of magnitude and source to site distance, covering bedrock and soil conditions. The standard error in the proposed relationship is reported as a function of the frequency, for further use of the results in probabilistic seismic hazard analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local site conditions strongly influence the characteristics of strong ground motion. In this study, influence of local site conditions on characteristics of strong ground motion records and their further effects on hazard studies were investigated for the Tarai region of Uttarakhand, India, where the thickness of soil cover varies significantly from few meters to several hundreds of meters. Another importance of these sites is that these sites have strong motion recording stations. Site characterization of each of the strong ground motion station is conducted using MASW tests to obtain shear wave velocity profiles of the sites. Further, site-specific ground response analysis is carried out using SHAKE2000 to investigate local site effects on strong ground motion records. Results clearly show the differences in IS 1893:2002 (Part-1) suggested 5 % damping response spectrum and the one obtained from ground response analyses. For sites having V around 200 m/s, constant acceleration frequency band is significantly widened in comparison with 5 % damping response spectrum of IS-1893:2002 (Part-1). This study further suggests the importance of thorough site characterization of strong motion instrumentation sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SRTM (Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission), Landsat ETM+ satellite image analysis along with earthquake data in the Jia Bhareli river catchment, an eastern Himalayan tributary of the Brahmaputra indicates neotectonic activities in the region. We have envisaged from the study that the western part of the river catchment ( western tectonic domain) is highly tectonically active as indicated by earthquake data, and SRTM DEM-derived longitudinal profiles, valley profiles, valley asymmetry, hypsometric integral values. On the other hand, the eastern part of the catchment has no sign of such active tectonics ( eastern tectonic domain) except the south convex fan-shaped zone further east with linear ridges paralleling the convex shape deforming the Miocene-Pleistocene Siwalik sediments and the Quaternary piedmont deposits in the Himalayan foothills. The catchment seems tilting to the east due to the ongoing tectonic activities propagating the deformational activities, generating folded structures, to the east and yielding earthquakes due to rigid deformation in the western part of the catchment. From the study, seismic risk in the south-central part of eastern Himalayas around Bomdila in the state of Arunachal Pradesh appears to be high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]