Non-uniformity of Himalayas foresees significantly large earthquake events

Scientists have found that the Himalayas are not uniform and assume different physical and mechanical properties in different directions — a property present in crystals that is called ‘anisotropy’.
This could result in significantly large earthquake events in the Himalayas.
The northwest region of India, an area covering Garhwal and Himachal Pradesh, has been hit by four destructive moderate to great earthquakes since the beginning of the 20th century — Kangra (1905), Kinnaur (1975), Uttarkashi (1991) and Chamoli (1999).
These seismic activities manifest large-scale subsurface deformation and weak zones, underlining the need for deeper insights into the ongoing deformation beneath these tectonically unstable zones.
Researchers from Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun, studied the seismic waves in the Western Himalayas and concluded that the major contribution to the anisotropy is the strain induced by the Indo-Eurasia collision going on for 50 million years and deformation due to the collision is found to be larger in the crust than in the upper mantle.

Source: PIB

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