Geoinformatic Modeling of Geomorphology in Seismic Vulnerability Mapping, Parts of Westernghats, South India

要旨

Indian Peninsular shield has been thought as tectonically inert and aseismic for many years by the Geoscientists. But, subsequent to the disastrous earthquakes in Killari, Jabalpur and Kutch, studies have been initiated in multiple directions on various aspects of seismicities. The present study is aimed at bringing out a possible picture on the seismic vulnerability of parts of Westernghats of Tamil Nadu using various tectano geomorphic anomalies like unifrequency lineaments and different levels of dissection of plateaus, denudational geomorphic anomalies like anomalous talus materials and fluvial geomorphic anomalies like radial drainages, compressed meanders, eyed drainages and wider flood plains interpreted from the raw and digitally processed Landsat TM and IRS P6 LISS-III satellite datasets. The subsequent generation of individual GIS layers on these anomalies and their integration revealed that the N-S faults are tectonically active and the NE-SW and NNE-SSW faults are active faults. Many earthquake epicenters were also found to fall along these lineaments / faults.