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Article

The Influence of Surface Topography on the Weak Ground Shaking in Kathmandu Valley during the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake, Nepal

by
Mark van der Meijde
1,*,
Md Ashrafuzzaman
1,2,
Norman Kerle
1,
Saad Khan
1,3 and
Harald van der Werff
1
1
Department of Earth Systems Analysis, Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), University of Twente, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
2
Roads and Highways Department, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Sarak Bhaban, Tejgaon, Dhaka 1208, Bangladesh
3
Department of Geology, Bacha Khan University Charsadda, Charsadda 24420, Pakistan
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sensors 2020, 20(3), 678; https://doi.org/10.3390/s20030678
Submission received: 18 October 2019 / Revised: 16 January 2020 / Accepted: 18 January 2020 / Published: 26 January 2020
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Space and Airborne Remote Sensing for Geo-Hazards, Tectonics, and Earth Structure and Composition)
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Abstract

It remains elusive why there was only weak and limited ground shaking in Kathmandu valley during the 25 April 2015 Mw 7.8 Gorkha, Nepal, earthquake. Our spectral element numerical simulations show that, during this earthquake, surface topography restricted the propagation of seismic energy into the valley. The mountains diverted the incoming seismic wave mostly to the eastern and western margins of the valley. As a result, we find de-amplification of peak ground displacement in most of the valley interior. Modeling of alternative earthquake scenarios of the same magnitude occurring at different locations shows that these will affect the Kathmandu valley much more strongly, up to 2–3 times more, than the 2015 Gorkha earthquake did. This indicates that surface topography contributed to the reduced seismic shaking for this specific earthquake and lessened the earthquake impact within the valley.
Keywords: earthquake; Nepal; amplification; modelling; digital elevation model earthquake; Nepal; amplification; modelling; digital elevation model

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MDPI and ACS Style

van der Meijde, M.; Ashrafuzzaman, M.; Kerle, N.; Khan, S.; van der Werff, H. The Influence of Surface Topography on the Weak Ground Shaking in Kathmandu Valley during the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake, Nepal. Sensors 2020, 20, 678. https://doi.org/10.3390/s20030678

AMA Style

van der Meijde M, Ashrafuzzaman M, Kerle N, Khan S, van der Werff H. The Influence of Surface Topography on the Weak Ground Shaking in Kathmandu Valley during the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake, Nepal. Sensors. 2020; 20(3):678. https://doi.org/10.3390/s20030678

Chicago/Turabian Style

van der Meijde, Mark, Md Ashrafuzzaman, Norman Kerle, Saad Khan, and Harald van der Werff. 2020. "The Influence of Surface Topography on the Weak Ground Shaking in Kathmandu Valley during the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake, Nepal" Sensors 20, no. 3: 678. https://doi.org/10.3390/s20030678

APA Style

van der Meijde, M., Ashrafuzzaman, M., Kerle, N., Khan, S., & van der Werff, H. (2020). The Influence of Surface Topography on the Weak Ground Shaking in Kathmandu Valley during the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake, Nepal. Sensors, 20(3), 678. https://doi.org/10.3390/s20030678

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