UC Riverside research sheds new light on earthquake that killed 9,000 people.
A new understanding of a fault that caused a deadly 7.8 magnitude earthquake can help scientists better predict where and when the next big one will hit.
For decades, scientists have debated the structure of the Main Himalayan Thrust — the fault responsible for a 2015 earthquake that killed nearly 9,000 people, injured 22,000, and destroyed 600,000 homes in Gorkha, Nepal. This fault is a direct result of ongoing collision between two tectonic plates — the Indian and Eurasian – that gives rise to the Himalayas.
Led by UC Riverside, a team of researchers has determined a new geometric model for the fault that will allow officials to better prepare for future shakers. The team’s work is detailed in a paper published today in Nature Geoscience.
“This is the most high-resolution model of this fault structure to date,” said Abhijit Ghosh, a UCR associate professor of geophysics. “With this knowledge we can better explain why the quake happened the way it happened, and better estimate the stress points along the fault that may act as birthplaces for future large damaging earthquakes.”
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Image via University of California Riverside
