Posted 25 April 2015
Last updated 15 May 2015
Event Overview
From the USGS Event Page, 25 April 2015: The April 25, 2015 M 7.8 Nepal earthquake occurred as the result of thrust faulting on or near the main frontal thrust between the subducting India plate and the overriding Eurasia plate to the north. At the location of this earthquake, approximately 80 km to the northwest of the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu, the India plate is converging with Eurasia at a rate of 45 mm/yr towards the north-northeast, driving the uplift of the Himalayan mountain range. The preliminary location, size and focal mechanism of the April 25 earthquake are consistent with its occurrence on the main subduction thrust interface between the India and Eurasia plates. For more information, see the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program event summary.
Data Available Through UNAVCO
UNAVCO is currently supporting retrieval of high-rate and standard GPS data from stations within Nepal. These data can be accessed through the UNAVCO Data Archive as they become available. Available high- and standard-rate GPS data for the region can be accessed via the UNAVCO Data Archive Interface.
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Figure 1. USGS ShakeMap for Mw 7.8 Gorkha, Nepal event of April 25, 2015. (Figure from USGS.)...Read more »
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Figure 2. Map of GPS assets in the region of the Gorkha, Nepal earthquake with MMI shaking intensity estimates from the USGS. GPS stations were installed and are maintained by Caltech Tectonics Observatory. High- and...Read more »
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Figure 3. Initial model of the Mw 7.8 Nepal earthquake as may be seen by an Interferometric Synthetic Aperture (InSAR) spacecraft such as Sentinal-1 or ALOS-2 and GPS. The model is based on the USGS...Read more »
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Figure 4. Expected vertical surface displacement from forward modeling (Okada 1992) based on seismically derived source provided by Gavin Hayes at the USGS. The expected vertical displacement at Everest is roughly 2.5...Read more »
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Figure 5. To assist in the disaster response efforts, scientists at NASA\'s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, and California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, in collaboration with the Italian Space...Read more »
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Figure 6. 1-Hz GPS/GNSS solutions at LHAZ （～650km from epicenter), as well as seismogeodetic solutions derived from collocated GPS and strong-motion seismometer LSA. LSA is 5.7 km from LHAZ and corrected for S wave...Read more »
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Figure 7. Displacements calculated using GAMIT/GLOBK software and IGS Rapid orbits, a regional stacking method to correct common-mode errors, and fitting a linear rate and coseismic jump to the position time series. The...Read more »
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Figure 8. Landslide dam hazard map based on a Newmark displacement analysis using peak ground accelerations (PGA) from USGS ShakeMap version 6 and Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) 90 meter topography. The hazard...Read more »
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Figure 9. Line-of-sight deformation data from the ALOS-2 satellite. The original SAR data were obtained from the AUIG User Interface Gateway under a calibration and validation project sponsored by JAXA. Data were...Read more »
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Figure 10. Line-of-sight deformation data from the ALOS-2 satellite. The original SAR data were obtained from the AUIG User Interface Gateway under a calibration and validation project sponsored by JAXA. Data were...Read more »
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Figure 11. Update: a Mw 7.3 aftershock occurred on May 12, 2015 at the eastern end of the rupture. ALOS-2 observations and preliminary modeling suggest that this event occurred on a part of the fault that was highly...Read more »
UNAVCO Community Discussion Forum
Links to GPS, strainmeter and satellite data and data products, results from the UNAVCO Community, and moderated public discussion. Results and status updates may be posted by the public (registration required).
UNAVCO Event Response Support
UNAVCO is in the process of assisting scientists and field personnel in need of support including instrumentation acquisition and deployment, geodetic data acquisition, and proposal preparation. Our Event Response Coordinators for the Gorkha event are:
John Galetzka <galetzkaatunavco.org>
Dr. Freddy Blume <blumeatunavco.org>
Jim Normandeau <normandeauatunavco.org>
Field-ready campaign GPS systems are available for deployment if requested.
Please visit the Community Event Response Coordination page to request support from UNAVCO.
Map Center:
Gorkha, Nepal
Related Links
Event summaries
Data resources and event responses
- JPL/Caltech ARIA project
- NASA-Generated Damage Map to Assist with 2015 Gorkha, Nepal Earthquake Disaster Response, using InSAR
- Line of Sight Deformation from ALOS-2 Interferometry, UCSD
- Earth Observatory of Singapore
- International Disaster Charter (Satellite Image Data Clearinghouse)
- IRIS event response
- GeoGateway
- E-DECIDER
- Alaska Satellite Facility - Sentinel-1A data
- University of Tsukuba seismic models
- Kathmandu Living Labs damage reports and open street maps
- Nepal Earthquake Landslide Maps, U. Michigan
Teaching and visualizations
In the media
- KPCC: Nepal quake: Scientists race against time to retrieve data recorders
- Nature: Major earthquake hits Nepal
- Wall Street Journal: Scientists Race Against Time to Gather Nepal Earthquake Data
- Daily Camera: Boulder researchers continue monitoring Nepal's volatile terrain: UNAVCO Inc. measuring shifts in landscape of earthquake-torn region
Last modified: Friday, 15-May-2015 21:29:12 UTC
2015