Study of Intra-plate Movement in the Indian Subcontinent along Narmada Son Lineament by Baseline Processing

India extends from 8° 4’ N to 37° 6’ N latitude and 68° 7’ E to 97° 25’ E longitude. It lies largely on the Indian plate. Major earthquakes generally happen along tectonic plate boundaries. But, Indian subcontinent has experienced some of the largest earthquakes, with magnitude more than 7, within it. This directs the possibility of significant intraplate movement in the Indian plate. Narmada river flows through the central part of India and is considered as the boundary between northern and southern India. It is tectonically active, which is not found in other river basins. Geophysical studies in the Son Narmada Fault (SNF) zone reveal that this is a zone of intense deep-seated faulting which has been reactivated and hence, this is the cause of major earthquakes and various tectonically induced landforms in that region recently. Estimates of intraplate strain across Narmada Son Lineament (NSL) from early campaign-mode GPS data and geological studies suggested movement of 2-3 mm per year. The Indian Plate is currently moving northeast at 5 cm/year, while the Eurasian Plate is moving northeast at only 2 cm/yr. Most of the research has been done with geological studies to determine the rate of the movement along NSL. We are considering Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data for around 16 continuously operating and well distributed sites in India. We are using BERNESE and GAMIT software’s for GNSS data processing. Both are scientific GNSS processing software with single differencing for ambiguity resolution. This is the first time in India that movement across NSL, with ITRF14 reference frame, will be determined from any space geodetic technique dominantly. In this study, several continuous GNSS stations in India along with nearby IGS sites from 2013 to 2018 are used to examine the distribution and magnitude of intraplate movement across the active SNF.

Keywords: Indian plate, Son Narmada Fault, GNSS, BERNESE, GAMIT, ITRF14