Neotectonic study of Ganga and Yamuna tear faults, NW Himalaya, using remote sensing and GIS

The Ganga and Yamuna rivers emerge from the Himalayas along two major faults known as the Ganga and Yamuna Tear Faults respectively. The two major strike-slip faults transverse to the Siwalik range are clearly seen in satellite imagery of the Dehradun area. Earthquake records, landslide and recent c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of remote sensing 2000-01, Vol.21 (3), p.499-518
Main Authors: Sahoo, Pradeep K., Kumar, Sandeep, Singh, Ramesh P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied geophysics
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
Geomorphology, landform evolution
Internal geophysics
Surficial geology
Tectonics. Structural geology. Plate tectonics
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Summary:The Ganga and Yamuna rivers emerge from the Himalayas along two major faults known as the Ganga and Yamuna Tear Faults respectively. The two major strike-slip faults transverse to the Siwalik range are clearly seen in satellite imagery of the Dehradun area. Earthquake records, landslide and recent changes in geomorphological features indicate that the area between the Main Boundary Thrust and the Main Frontal Thrust is tectonically active. An effort has been made to study the tectonic evolution and neotectonism of the Ganga and Yamuna tear faults. Spectral and spatial enhancement techniques have been employed to the digital data of IRS-1B LISS-I to delineate the lineaments and major faults of the area. Based on Mohr's theory, failure criteria and statistical analysis of remotely sensed lineament data, horizontal compressive stress values (S Hmax ) have been estimated at various sites of the study area. These data are found to be consistent with the published S Hmax orientation determined from earthquake focal mechanism solutions. Active faults and lineaments have been extracted from the remotely sensed lineament data. Past earthquake data and depth to basement contour data have been used in an integrated approach with available Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques to reconstruct a present-day regional geodynamic model. Attempts have been made to investigate the genesis of Ganga and Yamuna Tear Faults and possible causes of recent tectonic activities of the area with the help of the proposed geodynamic model.
ISSN:0143-1161
1366-5901
DOI:10.1080/014311600210713