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The current understanding of the Himalayan lithosphere stems mostly from cross-sections through the range at the longitude of the Kathmandu Basin. In this paper we laterally extend the analyses of structures and rheology along the Nepal Himalayas between the Pokhara valley and the Arun river. We take advantage of available information and a new data set including gravity measurements and a receiver function profile. It appears that the geometry of the Moho inferred from seismological profiles and long-wavelength gravity anomalies does not exhibit major East-West variations within the 350-km-wide study area. Using thermomechanical modelling, we show that the northward deepening of the Moho observed along profiles perpendicular to the main thrust faults can be interpreted simply as the bending of a strong India Plate. This result suggests a gradual mechanical decoupling between the crust and the mantle, leading to a northward decrease of the effective elastic thickness of the Indian lithosphere from∼75 km to∼25 km beneath the Ganga Basin and the Tibetan Plateau, respectively. Our results also confirm (partially) eclogitized lower Indian crust beneath southern Tibet. At shorter wavelengths, the observed gravity profiles exhibit some small lateral variations that can be interpreted in terms of east-west variations of the thickness of subsurface geological structures such as the Ganga Basin and the Tethyan Sedimentary Sequence

Lateral variations along the Himalayan arc are suggested by an increasing number of studies and carry important information about the orogen's segmentation. Here we compile the hitherto most complete land gravity dataset in the region which enables the currently highest resolution plausible analysis. To study lateral variations in collisional structure we compute arc-parallel gravity anomalies (APaGA) by subtracting the average arc-perpendicular profile from our dataset; we compute likewise for topography (APaTA). We find no direct correlation between APaGA, APaTA and background seismicity, as suggested in oceanic subduction context. In the Himalayas APaTA mainly reflect relief and erosional effects, whereas APaGA reflect the deep structure of the orogen with clear lateral boundaries. Four segments are outlined and have disparate flexural geometry: NE India, Bhutan, Nepal & India until Dehradun, and NW India. The segment boundaries in the India plate are related to inherited structures, and the boundaries of the Shillong block are highlighted by seismic activity. We find that large earthquakes of the past millennium do not propagate across the segment boundaries defined by APaGA, therefore these seem to set limits for potential rupture of megathrust earthquakes.

The seismic behavior of the Himalayan arc between central Nepal and Arunachal Pradesh remains poorly understood due to the lack of observations concerning the timing and size of past major and great earthquakes in Bhutan. We present here the first paleoseismic study along the Himalayan topographic front conducted at two sites in southern central Bhutan. Paleoseismological excavations and related OxCal modeling reveal that Bhutan experienced at least two great earthquakes in the last millennium: one between the seventeenth and eighteenth century and one during medieval times, producing a total cumulative vertical offset greater than 10 m. Along with previous studies that reported similar medieval events in Central Nepal, Sikkim, and Assam, our investigations support the occurrence of either (i) a series of great earthquakes between A.D. 1025 and A.D. 1520 or (ii) a single giant earthquake between A.D. 1090 and A.D. 1145. In the latter case, the surface rupture may have reached a total length of similar to 800 km and could be associated with an earthquake of magnitude M-w = 8.7-9.1.

Although the first-order pattern of present-day deformation is relatively well resolved across the Himalayas, irregular data coverage limits detailed analyses of spatial variations of interseismic coupling. We provide the first GPS velocity field for the Bhutan Himalaya. Combined with published data, these observations show strong east-west variations in coupling between central and eastern Bhutan. In contrast with previous estimations of first-order uniform interseismic coupling along the Himalayan arc, we identify significant lateral variations: In western and central Bhutan, the fully coupled segment is 135-155km wide with an abrupt downdip transition, whereas in eastern Bhutan the fully coupled segment is 100-120km wide and is limited updip and downdip by partially creeping segments. This is the first observation of decoupling on the upper ramp along the Himalayan arc, with important implications for large earthquake surface rupture and seismic hazard.

The current understanding of the Himalayan lithosphere stems mostly from cross-sections through the range at the longitude of the Kathmandu Basin. In this paper we laterally extend the analyses of structures and rheology along the Nepal Himalayas between the Pokhara valley and the Arun river. We take advantage of available information and a new data set including gravity measurements and a receiver function profile. It appears that the geometry of the Moho inferred from seismological profiles and long-wavelength gravity anomalies does not exhibit major East-West variations within the 350-km-wide study area. Using thermomechanical modelling, we show that the northward deepening of the Moho observed along profiles perpendicular to the main thrust faults can be interpreted simply as the bending of a strong India Plate. This result suggests a gradual mechanical decoupling between the crust and the mantle, leading to a northward decrease of the effective elastic thickness of the Indian lithosphere from∼75 km to∼25 km beneath the Ganga Basin and the Tibetan Plateau, respectively. Our results also confirm (partially) eclogitized lower Indian crust beneath southern Tibet. At shorter wavelengths, the observed gravity profiles exhibit some small lateral variations that can be interpreted in terms of east-west variations of the thickness of subsurface geological structures such as the Ganga Basin and the Tethyan Sedimentary Sequence