title: Slip pulse and resonance of the Kathmandu basin during the 2015 Gorkha earthquake, Nepal.
abstract: Detailed geodetic imaging of earthquake ruptures enhances our understanding of earthquake physics and associated ground shaking. The 25 April 2015 moment magnitude 7.8 earthquake in Gorkha, Nepal was the first large continental megathrust rupture to have occurred beneath a high-rate (5-hertz) Global Positioning System (GPS) network. We used GPS and interferometric synthetic aperture radar data to model the earthquake rupture as a slip pulse ~20 kilometers in width, ~6 seconds in duration, and with a peak sliding velocity of 1.1 meters per second, which propagated toward the Kathmandu basin at ~3.3 kilometers per second over ~140 kilometers. The smooth slip onset, indicating a large (~5-meter) slip-weakening distance, caused moderate ground shaking at high frequencies (>1 hertz; peak ground acceleration, ~16% of Earth's gravity) and minimized damage to vernacular dwellings. Whole-basin resonance at a period of 4 to 5 seconds caused the collapse of tall structures, including cultural artifacts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Geology and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
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authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Galetzka
authors.affiliation: BerkeleySeismological Laboratory, University of California (UC)-Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Melgar
authors.affiliation: Department of Geology and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Genrich
authors.affiliation: Cecil H. and Ida M. Green Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC-San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Geng
authors.affiliation: Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Caltech, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA.
authors.forename: S
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authors.lastname: Owen
authors.affiliation: Cecil H. and Ida M. Green Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC-San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
authors.forename: E O
authors.initials: EO
authors.lastname: Lindsey
authors.affiliation: Cecil H. and Ida M. Green Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC-San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Cecil H. and Ida M. Green Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC-San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bock
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EQ, UK. Department of Geology and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
authors.forename: J-P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Avouac
authors.affiliation: Department of Mines and Geology, Lainchour, Kathmandu, Nepal.
authors.forename: L B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Adhikari
authors.affiliation: Nepal Academy of Science and Technology, Khumaltar, Lalitpur, Nepal.
authors.forename: B N
authors.initials: BN
authors.lastname: Upreti
authors.affiliation: Department of Geological Sciences, Central Washington University (CWU), Ellensberg, WA 98926, USA.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pratt-Sitaula
authors.affiliation: Tri-Chandra Campus, Tribhuvan University, Ghantaghar, Kathmandu, Nepal.
authors.forename: T N
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Bhattarai
authors.affiliation: Tri-Chandra Campus, Tribhuvan University, Ghantaghar, Kathmandu, Nepal.
authors.forename: B P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Sitaula
authors.affiliation: Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Caltech, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.affiliation: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Pasadena, CA 91106, USA.
authors.forename: K W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Hudnut
authors.affiliation: Pacific Northwest Geodetic Array and Department of Geological Sciences, CWU, Ellensberg, WA 98926, USA.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Szeliga
authors.affiliation: UNAVCO, Boulder, CO 80301, USA.
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authors.lastname: Normandeau
authors.affiliation: UNAVCO, Boulder, CO 80301, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fend
authors.affiliation: Département Analyse et Sureveillance de l'Environnement (DASE), Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique (CEA), 91297 Bruyères-le-Châtel, Arpajon, France.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Flouzat
authors.affiliation: Département Analyse et Sureveillance de l'Environnement (DASE), Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique (CEA), 91297 Bruyères-le-Châtel, Arpajon, France.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bollinger
authors.affiliation: Department of Mines and Geology, Lainchour, Kathmandu, Nepal.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Shrestha
authors.affiliation: Department of Mines and Geology, Lainchour, Kathmandu, Nepal.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Koirala
authors.affiliation: Department of Mines and Geology, Lainchour, Kathmandu, Nepal.
authors.forename: U
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authors.lastname: Gautam
authors.affiliation: Department of Mines and Geology, Lainchour, Kathmandu, Nepal.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bhatterai
authors.affiliation: Department of Mines and Geology, Lainchour, Kathmandu, Nepal.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.affiliation: Department of Mines and Geology, Lainchour, Kathmandu, Nepal.
authors.forename: T
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authors.lastname: Kandel
authors.affiliation: Department of Mines and Geology, Lainchour, Kathmandu, Nepal.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Timsina
authors.affiliation: Department of Mines and Geology, Lainchour, Kathmandu, Nepal.
authors.forename: S N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Sapkota
authors.affiliation: Department of Mines and Geology, Lainchour, Kathmandu, Nepal.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rajaure
authors.affiliation: Department of Mines and Geology, Lainchour, Kathmandu, Nepal.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Maharjan