A complex thrust sequence in western Himalaya: The active Medlicott Wadia Thrust

The recent activity of the Medlicott-Wadia Thrust (MWT) is investigated by geomorphic and tectonic studies in the Riasi zone, south of the Pir Panjal range (India, Jammu-Kasmir state of western Himalaya). In the Riasi area, the MWT forms a splay of five faults that dip northward. The recent activity of the splay is quantified using a set of deformed Quaternary alluvial units. The central branch of the thrust splay moved Precambrian limestones above Quaternary sediments and is sealed by 36 ± 3 ka (youngest OSL age) deposits. The other branches offset the top of a 15 ± 1 ka (youngest OSL age) alluvial fan by 180 to 120 m; the two southernmost branches form 17-34 m high non-cylindrical scarps and the two northernmost branches also offset the fan by ∼8 m and ∼54 m, respectively. A balanced cross-section parallel to the N210°E thrust motion suggests that the sequence of activity is complex: an in-sequence propagation is found for the three southern Tea, Scorpion and Rain faults and an out-of-sequence reactivation for the northern Pillar fault. Furthermore, several thrusts simultaneously activated for intervals of a few thousand years, whereas others are episodically inactive. Nearly 10 mm/yr of India-Eurasia convergence is regularly absorbed by the MWT, a value greater than the one estimated for the western segment of the MWT affected by the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, where the thrust tectonics interacts with the complex kinematics of the syntax. This work indicates that the MWT is very active and might be related to thick-skinned tectonics in the western Himalaya.