Estimation of the source process of the 2015 Gorkha, Nepal, earthquake and simulation of long-period ground motions in the Kathmandu basin using a one-dimensional basin structure model

Abstract

The source rupture process of the 2015 Gorkha, Nepal, earthquake was estimated by the joint kinematic source inversion with near-field waveforms, teleseismic waveforms, and geodetic data. The estimated seismic moment and maximum slip are 7.5×10²⁰ Nm (M _w 7.9) and 7.3 m, respectively. The total source duration is approximately 50 s. The derived source model has a unilateral rupture toward the east and a large-slip area north of Kathmandu with the maximum slip. Using the estimated source model together with a one-dimensional (1-D) velocity basin structure model, long-period (>4 s) ground motions were simulated at a site located in the Kathmandu basin, where strong ground motions with predominant components in a 4-5s period were observed during the 2015 Gorkha earthquake. This simulation demonstrated that the major features of the observed waveforms can be reproduced by our source model and the 1-D basin structure model.