Optical dating of sediments in Khari River basin and slip rate along Katrol Hill Fault (KHF), Kachchh, India

Abstract

In the central region of Mainland Kachchh, Western India, the Katrol Hill Fault (KHF) is one of the major E-W trending faults. An understanding of the episodes of reactivation during the past has a bearing on the future seismicity in the region. These reactivations are manifested by offset of elevation of fluvial sediments and scarp-derived colluvium in the Khari River basin, SE of Bharasar (23°11'36.5"N, 69°35'22.6"E). Stratigraphic offsets of the sediments at this site suggest three episodes of reactivation of the KHF during the late Quaternary. Optical dating of samples from sediment strata and top layer of scarp-derived colluvium using Natural Sensitivity Corrected-Single Aliquot Regenerative (NCF-SAR) protocol suggested that these events occurred during the past ~30 ka, with the most recent historic episode around 3.0 ka. Given that a part of the slip recorded in the form of sediments offset, was lost due to erosion after faulting, a lower bound to the time averaged slip rate of the segment of KHF, is inferred to be > 0.23 mm/a during the past 30 ka.