Sedimentary Thickness Variations in the Indo-Gangetic Foredeep from Inversion of Receiver Functions

We utilize receiver functions from ten broadband seismic stations deployed along a north-south profile traversing the Indo-Gangetic plains in northern India to investigate the sedimentary thickness variations in this hitherto less-studied foreland basin south of the Himalaya. Parameterization of the velocity structure adopting the neighborhood algorithm approach shows that the data can be satisfactorily modeled for low-velocity sediments having shear-wave velocities in the range of 0.72-2.5 km/s with thicknesses varying from 0.5 to 3.7 km beneath the individual stations. The velocity-depth functions obtained in this study are important for earthquake-hazard assessment of the densely populated urban centers spread over this region, in terms of predicting strong ground motions due to large earthquakes in the Himalaya.