Shear wave attenuation characteristics over the Central India Tectonic Zone and its surroundings

The study area lies between latitude 18-26°N and longitude 73-83°E, and mainly covers the Central India Tectonic Zone (CITZ). The frequency-dependent shear wave quality factor (Qs) has been estimated over the CITZ and its surroundings using Double Spectral Ratio (DSR) method. We have considered 25 local earthquakes with magnitude (ML) varies from 3.0 to 4.7 recorded at 11 stations running under national seismic network. The Fast Fourier Transformed (FFT) spectra were computed from the recorded waveform having time-window from onset of S-phase to 1.0 s and for a frequency-band of 0.1-10 Hz. Three different shear wave velocities (i.e., 3.87, 3.39 and 3.96 km/s) were obtained over the study area based on a pair of earthquakes recorded at a pair of stations. The low Qs values of 51-96 at 1 Hz (i.e., Qs = 51f0.49; Qs = 90f0.488 and Qs = 96f0.53) were found in the area covering the Son-Narmada-Tapti (SONATA) lineament, CITZ, eastern part of the Satpura fold belt, Vindhyan and Gondwana basins, Godavari and Mahanadi grabens, and southern part of Gangetic plain. Intermediate Qs values of the order of 204-277 (i.e., Qs = 204f0.56 and Qs = 277f0.55) were noted in the cartonic areas, namely, Bundelkhand, Dharwar-Bhandara and Bastar. While the higher Qs values of 391-628 at 1 Hz (i.e., Qs = 391f0.49, Qs = 409f0.48, Qs = 417f0.48, Qs = 500f0.66, Qs = 585f0.65 and Qs = 628f0.69) were found in the eastern part of the SONATA, CITZ, and the northeastern part of the Satpura fold belt. The low Qs values might be attributing to the more heterogeneous SONATA rift system. Low Qs values further may presumably be associated with lower-level of seismicity and apparently account for higher tectonic stress accumulation over long duration. The long-term accumulated stress is generally released through occasional triggering of moderate magnitude earthquakes in the SONATA zone. Surrounding the SONATA region, the higher Qs values possibly accounts for a more homogeneous subsurface structure along the SONATA zone.