Probing afterslip and viscoelastic relaxation following the 2015 Mw 7.8 Gorkha earthquake based on the 3-D Finite Element Model

Abstract We analyzed daily displacement time series from 34 continuous GPS stations in Nepal and 5 continuous GPS stations in South Tibet, China, and extracted the first 4.8 years of postseismic motion after the 2015 Mw7.8 Gorkha earthquake. With the longer duration GPS observations, we find that postseismic displacements mainly exhibit southward and uplift motion. To study the postseismic afterslip and viscoelastic relaxation, we built a 3-D spherical finite element model (FEM) with heterogeneous material properties and surface topography across the Himalayan range, accounting for the strong variations in material properties and surface elevation along central Himalayan arc. On the basis of the FEM, we reveal that the predicted viscoelastic relaxation of cm level moves southward to the north of the Gorkha earthquake rupture, but in an opposite direction to the observed postseismic deformation in the south; the postseismic deformation with viscoelastic relaxation is well explained by afterslip downdip of the coseismic rupture, which is still dominant 4.8 years after the 2015 Mw7.8 Gorkha earthquake. The lack of slip on a shallow portion and western segment of the MHT during and after the 2015 Gorkha earthquake implies continued seismic hazard in the future.