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Use of digital elevation models and drainage patterns for locating active faults
in the Upper Gangetic Plain, India
Article  in  International Journal of Remote Sensing · February 2009
DOI: 10.1080/01431160802392604
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Use of digital elevation models and drainage patterns for locating active
faults in the Upper Gangetic Plain, India
B. BHOSLE, B. PARKASH*, A. K. AWASTHI and P. PATI
Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, Roorkee-
247667, India
(Received 27 August 2006; in final form 14 July 2008 )
Twelve normal, active faults transverse to the regional Ganga and Yamuna
longitudinal faults have been identified in the western part of the gently sloping
Upper Gangetic Plain from the interpretation of digital elevation models
(DEMs), prepared by manual digitization of spot heights from 1 : 50 000 scale
topographic maps. High vertical exaggeration of these DEMs reveals artefactual
morphostructures such as ‘cliffs’ and ‘significant breaks in slopes’ that are
indicative of faults. Convergent drainage on the upthrown blocks, initiation of
new streams on the downthrown blocks, offsetting of drainage and anomalous
sinuosity of streams close to faults have provided additional corroborating
evidence of the faults. Detailed field investigations indicate relatively steeper
slopes close to the inferred faults than the adjoining areas. Erosion of the
upthrown blocks and deposition of sediments on the downthrown blocks in the
form of terminal fans under a semi-arid climate formed features typical of many
such faults.
1. Introduction
The present-day Gangetic peripheral foreland basin is a tectonically active alluvial
trough receiving sediments shed by the Himalayan orogen from the time of its
inception. Neotectonic activities in the Ganga Plain have been recorded by a number
of studies (Mohindra et al. 1992, Srivastava et al. 1994, Kumar et al. 1996, Parkash
et al. 2000, Singh et al. 2006). The basis for such interpretations are the offsetting of
the Siwalik Hills along the major thrusts, offsetting and straightening of the river
courses, asymmetrical terraces and frequent earthquake activities in the Gangetic
basin, some of the earthquakes being highly devastating, such as the Nepal–Bihar
border earthquakes of 1934 and 1988 with magnitudes of 8.3 and 6.4, respectively.Several studies have been carried out using Geographical Information System
(GIS) techniques, in particular digital elevation models (DEMs), to identify and
describe various geomorphic features such as faults, folds, etc. Most of the work,
however, is restricted to mountainous regions (Goldsworthy and Jackson 2000,
Ganas et al. 2001, Michon and Van Balen 2005, Smith and Clark 2005). Only a
limited amount of work has been undertaken in flat terrains using remote sensing/
GIS techniques to identify morphostructures including faults. For example, Kervyn
et al. (2006) mapped Quaternary faults in the flat region of the Rukwa Basin of
Africa, by constructing DEMs based on Interferometer Synthetic Aperture Radar
*Corresponding author. Email: bparkfes@iitr.ernet.in
International Journal of Remote Sensing
Vol. 30, No. 3, 10 February 2009, 673–691
International Journal of Remote Sensing
ISSN 0143-1161 print/ISSN 1366-5901 online # 2009 Taylor & Francis
http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
DOI: 10.1080/01431160802392604
(InSAR) data. Badura and Przybyski (2005) mapped the boundary of an aeolian
dune field in a DEM generated by using digital elevation data from 1 : 10 000 scale
topographic maps.
This paper describes the first major study of a flat region (Gangetic Plain) to
identify and map the subtle discontinuities on the surface at a regional scale. The
discontinuities have been identified from DEMs and later inferred as faults.
Drainage patterns especially of small inland streams have provided supporting
evidence for these faults. For preparing DEMs we have used spot heights and inland
drainage patterns, studied from 1 : 50 000 scale topographic maps. Mapping of the
geomorphic units, particularly terminal fans, generated due to the low relief created
by the activity of normal faults, provides additional evidence. Extensive fieldwork
has confirmed these features. Additionally, we have used Landsat Thematic Mapper
(TM) data for mapping soil-geomorphic units and compared DEMs obtained from
spots height on topographic maps and from Shuttle Radar Topography Mission
(SRTM) elevation data visually.
A terminal fan was first described from the semi-arid part of the Indo-Gangetic
Plain (Mukerji 1976, Parkash et al. 1983). This fan is located far from the foothills
and was considered to have been formed because of loss of stream discharge, a result
of seepage and evapotranspiration. However, Singhai et al. (1991) noted that a fault
caused a break in the slope of the stream and was partially responsible for its
deposition. More recently, Singh et al. (2006) found that these features develop close
to active normal faults with a throw of a few metres even in a dry subhumid climate.
2. Geological setting
The Gangetic Plain is divided into Upper, Middle and Lower Plains (Thomas et al.
2002). The Upper Gangetic Plain is characterized by incised rivers and uplands
overlain by moderately to well-developed soils, the Middle Gangetic Plain is marked
by high sedimentation rates and fast avulsing river channels and is overlain by very
weakly to moderately developed soils and the Lower Gangetic Plain is marked by
distinctive deltaic sedimentation and weakly developed soils. The study area forms
the western part of the Upper Gangetic Plain lying between the Ganga and Yamuna
Rivers (figure 1).
The study area is bounded by the Delhi Supergroup of rocks (Pre-Cambrian) in
the west and southwestern parts, the Vindhyan Supergroup of rocks (Proterozoic) in
the south and southeastern parts and the Himalayan orogen in the north (figure 1).
Basement structures have strongly influenced the evolution of the Ganga Plain
during the Holocene (Agarwal 1977, Bajpai 1989, Mohindra et al. 1992, Khan et al.
1996, Kumar et al. 1996, Parkash et al. 2000).
The subsurface Faizabad Ridge and Aravalli-Delhi Massif are the two basement
highs (.6000 km2 in area) (Eremenko and Negi 1968) that occur below the thick
Gangetic alluvium in the study area. These ridges have been identified through
aeromagnetic surveys (Rao 1973, Khan et al. 1996). Probably these highs are
affecting the sedimentation in the Gangetic plains. The Faizabad Ridge in the
middle-Gangetic plain exists as a continuation of the Bundelkhand massif in the
south. The Faizabad Ridge marks the boundary between east and west Uttar
Pradesh (tectonic) shelves (Eremenko and Negi 1968).
In the northwestern margin of the Gangetic Basin, the Delhi-Hardwar Ridge of
Aravalli rocks extends in the subsurface towards the Himalayan orogen up to
Muzaffarnagar and further north it plunges to unknown depths (Rao 1973).
674 B. Bhosle et al.
The study area is bounded by the Ganga–Yamuna Rivers that are incised up to
20 m. The Ganga–Yamuna Interfluve is moderately drained and inland streams
travel long distances parallel to the major streams. The overall drainage pattern is
parallel, controlled by regional slopes with dendritic drainage patterns existing
locally. Small and large rivers show converging and offset types of drainage (Singh
et al. 2006). The river floodplain width varies significantly in the bounding rivers.
For ease of comprehension, we present here the names of major faults inferred in
the present study. The Ganga and Yamuna Faults in the study area have a
curvilinear character, with fault segments striking NNE–SSW in the northern
region; they turn north–south in the central region and take easterly to an ESE–
WNW direction in the southern region over a major part of their lengths, parallel to
the Himalayan orogen/Gangetic basin trend. These are longitudinal faults. Most of
the faults on the Ganga–Yamuna Interfluve, such as the Solani-I, Muzaffarnagar,
Meerut, Ghaziabad, Aligarh, Sikandra Rao, Aliganj-Mainpuri, Fatehgarh-Etawah,
Kannauj-Bidhuna, Kanpur-Ghatampur, Fatehpur and Allahabad Faults at high
angles to the longitudinal faults are transverse faults (Parkash et al. 2000, Bhosle et
al. 2006). The Delhi Fault occurring on the Ganga–Yamuna Interfluve is an oblique
fault, striking at about 35u to the enclosing longitudinal faults.
3. Methodology
In the present study we made use of DEMs, drainage features and identification and
mapping of geomorphic features using remote sensing data. DEMs are representa-
tions of the terrain elevation as a function of geographic location (Burrough 1996).
They provide the basic information required to characterize the topographic
Figure 1. Location map of the study area. Basement structure of the Indo-Gangetic Plain
(after Karunakaran and Ranga Rao 1978).
Locating active faults in the Upper Gangetic Plain 675
attributes of the terrain. The DEMs in the present study were used to visualize three-
dimensional (3-D) models of some inferred faults with the best possible settings of
vertical exaggerations and viewing sun angles.
Although SRTM data are available for the study area with a high density of 90 m
grid interval, we found that they are not helpful in highlighting the subtle
morphostructures because of the low height resolution (¡6 m). Therefore, for
generating DEMs, spot heights (total number518 154) with an accuracy greater
than ¡2 m (R. P. Jhalina, Survey of India, personal communication) were manually
digitized from 105 topographic maps on the scale 1 : 50 000, published by Survey of
India, covering the entire study area. The density of spot heights is 1–2 points/
10 km2, which is good enough for such a regional study (Badura and Przybyski
2005). The topographic maps do not provide any contour lines. A separate base
theme was prepared by digitizing roads, canal networks and cities from the
topographic maps and was saved for further analysis, display and georeferencing of
the satellite images. Remote sensing and GIS software used for this purpose was
ERDAS (Earth Resources Data and Analyzing System) IMAGINE 8.5, Arc View
3.2a and Surfer 8 (Golden Software, Inc. 2003).
Initially, a 1/2u (longitude)61/2u (latitude) grid was overlain over the whole study
area.3-D visualization surfaces were generated for individual cells using Surfer 8
Software to search for interesting areas. The 3-D surfaces were later generated for
areas showing interesting features. Areas for which DEMs were generated are
shown in figure 2. Using the Surfer 8 program, initially a grid was generated from
the irregularly spaced spot heights and then a surface was fitted to the gridded data.
For DEM construction we give the longer of the x-axes and the y-axes a length of
60 for representing about 1/2u longitude/latitude and the other axis is taken as a
default value. Normally we use a z-axis length of between 0.750 and 10 for
representing a height difference of 25–30 m to produce a near-realistic DEM, which
translates into a vertical exaggeration of about 400 to 600 times.
Two-dimensional (2-D) topographic profiles (subsets of DEMs) were drawn to
determine regional slopes and local slopes across the inferred faults. For this
purpose, a surface with a linear rubber stretching interpolation technique was fitted
to spot heights and 2-D profiles drawn, using ERDAS IMAGINE software. Profiles
across faults also provided approximate values of fault throws.
Figure 2. Location map of the DEMs and regions showing drainage features. MuFt,
Muzaffarnagar Fault; MFt, Meerut Fault; GhFt, Ghaziabad Fault; AFt, Aligarh Fault;
AMFt, Aliganj-Mainpuri Fault; FEFt, Fatehgarh-Etawah Fault; KBFt, Kannauj-Bidhuna
Fault; KGFt, Kanpur-Ghatampur Fault; FFt, Fatehpur Fault; AlFt, Allahabad Fault; DFt,
Delhi Fault; GFt, Ganga Fault; YFt, Yamuna Fault.
676 B. Bhosle et al.
The average slopes of the study area vary from 0.017% to 0.05% and those in the
fault zones are in the range 0.17–0.47% (table 4) and this has necessitated the use of
high vertical exaggerations to bring out anomalous slopes due to the activity of faults.
Visualization of DEM to observe lineaments from a single azimuthal illumination
source may introduce biases (Onorati et al. 1992, Smith and Clark, 2005). In our
case, we experimented with a single source being placed from 0u to + 180u
(anticlockwise direction) and from 0u to 2180u (clockwise direction) from the + x-
axis. We found that orientations and locations of fault zones were invariable,
although the most effective results for observing the subtle faults of the region were
obtained when the illumination source is placed nearly 60u to 120u from the strike of
the faults on the upthrown blocks.
Drainage maps for the area were prepared from 1 : 50 000 scale topographic maps.
Drainage patterns thus obtained were comparable with those obtained from Landsat
TM images. In addition, terminal fans and other geomorphological features such as
active floodplains, old plains and a palaeochannel were also mapped from Landsat
TM images (figure 3). Old plains were further divided into subunits on the basis of the
degree of soil development and absolute ages of C-horizons of soils obtained by the
Optically Stimulated Luminescence Dating Technique for preparing a chronology of
evolution of landforms and soils. A list of Landsat TM images used in the study, with
their acquisition dates, is given in table 1.
In a False Colour Composite (FCC) prepared from bands 4(R), 3(G) and 2 (B) of
Landsat TM we found that the terminal fans showed a distributary channel pattern
formed by shallow inland ephemeral streams, marked by the occurrence of salt
efflorescence in linear patches along the channels, due to high evapotranspiration
rates under a semi-arid climate. In addition, the terminal fans were covered by
sparse vegetation. The distributary channel pattern was also brought out in the
near-infrared band 2 of Wide Field Sensors (WiFS) images.
4. Evidence for the presence of faults
Discontinuities and significant changes in slopes observed in the DEMs, the
occurrence of terminal fans on the downthrown blocks of transverse normal faults
as mapped from remote sensing satellite images, and the behaviour of drainage
Figure 3. Geomorphic map of the study area-based on Landsat TM images. Numerals 1, 2,
etc. refer to fans and are defined in table 5. Lines across some faults indicate location of
topographic profiles in figures 5 and 6. Yp refers to the Yamuna Paleochannel. DFt, Delhi
Fault and SRFt, Sikandra Rao Fault. Abbreviations for other faults explained in figure 2.
Locating active faults in the Upper Gangetic Plain 677
patterns, when the slope discontinuity was encountered, provided most of the
evidence of fault identification.
4.1 Evidence from the DEMs
4.1.1 Different interpolation algorithms for preparing DEMs. Surfer 8 has facilities
for preparing DEMs using different interpolation methods such as inverse distance
to a power, kriging with linear variogram, local polynomial, minimum curvature,
moving average, natural neighbour, nearest neighbour, polynomial regression,
radial basis function (multiquadratic and thin plate spline) and triangulation with
linear interpolation. In this study an attempt was made to compare these
interpolation techniques using the cross-validation subroutine of Surfer software.
First we selected the griddling technique with defining parameters (table 2). One
randomly selected spot height from the total number of spot heights for a region was
excluded and a surface was fitted and interpolated height at the excluded point was
determined. This value was put back and the procedure was repeated for 50 spot
heights. Deviations between the observed and interpolated spot heights were
compared by calculating the root mean square error (RMSE), following Weng
(2002). The experiment was repeated with 100, 150, 200 and 250 spot heights. The
RMSEs for DEMs for regions around two typical faults, Muzaffarnagar and
Aligarh Faults, are given in table 3. These values suggest that the moving
average technique gives the worst result (RMSE54.451325.4724), followed by the
Table 1. Salient features of the Landsat satellite digital data used during the study.
Place Path/Row Date of acquisition
Hardwar 146–39 21 October 1990
Meerut 146–40 24 September 1992
Aligarh 146–41 18 October 1989
Etawah 145–41 15 November 1990
Kannauj 144–41 21 November 1989
Kanpur 144–42 21 November 1989
Allahabad 143–42 17 November 1990
Table 2. Interpolation parameters used.
Algorithms Interpolation parameters
Inverse distance to a power Power parameter53; smoothing parameter50
Kriging with linear variogram Nugget effect: error variance50, micro
variance50; with default scale and length
parameters
Local polynomial Third-order polynomial
Minimum curvature Max. residual50.041 }Muffaranagar Fault
Max. iterations53000
Max. residual50.035 }Aligarh Fault
Max. iterations54000
Moving average Default setting
Natural neighbour Anisotropy ratio51.0, angle50u
Nearest neighbour Default setting
Polynomial regression Fourth-order polynomial
Radial basis function (multiquadratic) R250.01
Radial basis function (thin plate spline) R250.01
Triangulation with linear interpolation NA
678 B. Bhosle et al.
nearest-neighbour technique in the case of Muzaffarnagar Fault (3.3985–3.8927).
Other methods provide similar lower RMSE values. In comparison with the present
study, Weng (2002) found that the triangulation with linear interpolation algorithm
provides the worst interpolation for preparing DEMs for a mountainous region.
Qualitative visual comparison of DEMs by various interpolation techniques suggests
that moving average and triangulation with linear interpolation algorithms do not bring
any discontinuous morphostructures. Modified Shephard, natural neighbour, nearest
neighbour and radial basis function algorithms consume large amounts of computer
time in data processing, although these bring out the discontinuous morphostructures
well. The rest of the methods, including inverse distance to a power, minimum
curvature, kriging, polynomial regression (fourth-order) and local polynomial, bring
out the features of interest and any one of them could be used. However, weused the
kriging technique as it attempts to connect high points in the form of a ridge, rather than
isolated ridges forming bull’s eyes, and it provides visually appealing DEMs for
irregularly spaced data. Various settings including the number of nodes, grid spacing,
position of the illumination source and vertical exaggeration used for preparing DEMs
and slopes close to the fault are given in table 4.
4.1.2 Identification of faults. The transverse faults in the northern region
(Muzaffarnagar, Meerut and Ghaziabad) show well-developed ‘scarps’ in the
DEMs, whereas DEMs for the Aligarh, Aliganj-Mainpuri and Kanpur-Ghatampur
Faults show significant breaks in slopes, and rough and smooth surfaces on the
upthrown and downthrown blocks, respectively, in the central and southeastern
regions (figure 4(f)–(h)). The Muzaffarnagar Fault has developed three terminal
fans, whereas all the rest of the faults are marked by the presence or absence of one
terminal fan on the downthrown blocks (table 5).
Topographic profiles across the Muzaffarnagar Fault at three places (figure 5(a)–
(c)), derived from the DEM, suggest that there is a significant break in slope across
the fault and the southern side of the fault has gone down relative to the northern
side by 5–6 m. A topographic profile parallel to the Muzaffarnagar Fault on the
downthrown sides suggests the presence of three small fans, the eastern, middle and
western Muzaffarnagar fans, which are also incised deeply (figure 5(d)). Most of the
terminal fans continue on the upthrown blocks in the form of triangular regions
forming pediments due to the headward erosion by the streams.
Similarly, topographic profiles across other faults show the presence of significant
breaks in slope across the fault and approximate values of throw vary from 5 to 14 m
(figures 5 and 6, table 5).
4.2 Evidence from drainage patterns
Subparallel streams, on meeting an obstruction, converge to form a combined stream
that either cross-cuts through the obstruction or takes a turn and then continues on its
course (figures 2, 7(a(i, ii)) and 7(b(ii)–(iv))). This pattern was first described by Singh
et al. (2006) on the upthrown blocks of the transverse normal faults in the adjoining
area to the east. This pattern is shown by the Kali River and its tributaries near
Ghaziabad Fault (figures 2 and 7(a)(v)), the Sengar River and its tributaries near
Aligarh Fault and small inland streams near Sikandra Rao and Kannauj-Bidhuna
Faults. Most of the transverse faults also show initiation of new streams on the
downthrown blocks. Good examples of this feature are exhibited by Muzaffarnagar,
Meerut, Fatehgarh-Etawah and Aligarh Faults (figures 2, 7(a(iii, iv)) and 7(b(i, iv))).
Locating active faults in the Upper Gangetic Plain 679
T
a
b
le
3
.
C
ro
ss
-v
a
li
d
a
ti
o
n
o
f
v
a
ri
o
u
s
in
te
rp
o
la
ti
o
n
a
lg
o
ri
th
m
s
u
si
n
g
d
if
fe
re
n
t
in
p
u
t
p
o
in
ts
(5
0
,
1
0
0
,
1
5
0
,
2
0
0
,
a
n
d
2
5
0
).
In
te
rp
o
la
ti
o
n
a
lg
o
ri
th
m
s
M
u
za
ff
ra
n
a
g
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r
F
a
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lt
re
g
io
n
A
li
g
a
rh
F
a
u
lt
re
g
io
n
5
0
1
0
0
1
5
0
2
0
0
2
5
0
5
0
1
0
0
1
5
0
2
0
0
2
5
0
In
v
er
se
d
is
ta
n
ce
to
a
p
o
w
er
2
.1
6
2
8
3
.0
4
8
7
2
.6
9
6
7
3
.3
8
5
9
3
.0
2
6
0
2
.3
5
2
2
2
.3
0
5
1
2
.6
1
4
4
2
.3
9
8
9
2
.3
9
8
9
K
ri
g
in
g
2
.8
9
5
1
3
.3
2
9
3
3
.2
0
4
2
3
.0
4
3
0
2
.8
4
3
6
2
.3
7
7
3
2
.2
4
3
9
2
.2
8
1
4
2
.2
9
0
0
2
.2
3
7
5
L
o
ca
l
p
o
ly
n
o
m
ia
l
2
.3
0
0
0
3
.3
9
7
9
2
.9
9
0
6
3
.2
2
8
0
2
.8
3
5
1
2
.2
7
5
2
2
.4
3
2
7
2
.2
4
6
9
2
.2
3
1
5
2
.5
6
3
5
M
in
im
u
m
cu
rv
a
tu
re
3
.3
7
3
0
3
.4
5
8
7
2
.9
3
5
0
3
.1
8
3
8
3
.1
2
4
2
2
.0
1
6
3
2
.4
2
0
9
2
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9
5
2
2
.5
5
0
5
2
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3
1
5
M
o
v
in
g
a
v
er
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e
5
.4
7
2
4
6
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2
5
9
5
.4
6
0
0
5
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1
5
8
5
.6
5
0
2
5
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1
7
1
4
.7
4
8
2
4
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6
8
0
4
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1
4
4
4
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5
1
3
N
a
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ra
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n
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g
h
b
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r
2
.9
3
5
4
3
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3
8
5
3
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2
9
8
2
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2
2
7
3
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9
6
0
2
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2
1
2
2
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6
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2
8
4
2
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1
2
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N
ea
re
st
n
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g
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3
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8
4
2
3
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8
7
1
3
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0
8
4
2
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4
2
3
2
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4
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2
.6
1
9
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2
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6
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1
2
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7
1
9
P
o
ly
n
o
m
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ss
io
n
3
.7
0
8
4
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2
2
7
2
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7
2
5
3
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8
4
5
3
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4
6
7
3
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0
7
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2
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7
7
8
2
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6
4
2
2
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2
1
4
2
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5
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R
a
d
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l
b
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si
s
fu
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ct
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(m
u
lt
iq
u
a
d
ra
ti
c)
3
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7
9
6
2
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5
0
8
2
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5
2
5
3
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8
1
6
3
.0
1
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7
2
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1
0
6
2
.5
6
3
4
2
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1
7
8
2
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7
5
6
2
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1
7
1
R
a
d
ia
l
b
a
si
s
fu
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ct
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(t
h
in
p
la
te
sp
li
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e)
2
.8
7
0
4
3
.4
0
1
8
2
.9
8
5
6
3
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7
3
3
3
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9
2
6
2
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2
4
0
2
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3
0
9
2
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9
5
7
2
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9
7
2
2
.6
0
5
T
ri
a
n
g
u
la
ti
o
n
(l
in
ea
r
in
te
rp
o
la
ti
o
n
)
2
.8
7
0
9
3
.1
1
3
4
3
.1
1
1
6
3
.0
0
5
0
2
.8
4
9
2
2
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1
6
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2
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3
6
2
2
.4
4
9
3
2
.5
6
8
8
2
.4
8
3
1
680 B. Bhosle et al.
Offsetting of drainage is mostly seen in the bounding rivers (Ganga and Yamuna
Rivers) and some inland rivers (Kali River). The Ganga and Yamuna Rivers show
offsetting along the Kanpur-Ghatampur fault, where the Ganga and Yamuna
moved to the south and north, respectively (figure 7(a(i))). Offsetting of the Ganga
and Yamuna River courses in the eastern part of the study area is due to the
Figure 4. Perspective views of the topography of area around the inferred faults, with
heights shown in metres: (a) Muzaffarnagar Fault, (b) Meerut Fault, (c) Ghaziabad Fault, (d)
Aligarh Fault, (e) Aliganj-Mainpuri Fault, and (f) Kanpur-Ghatampur Fault.
COLOUR
FIGURE
Table 4. Parameters of DEMs obtained from the kriging interpolation technique.
Fault
Grid
(x6y)
Grid
spacing (m)
Slope close
to the fault
(%)
Light position
angles (u)
Exaggerationx y Horizontal Vertical
Muzaffarnagar 50643 1009.2 1002.2 0.47 107 50 500
Meerut 49646 998.7 989.2 0.17 111 52 406
Ghaziabad 53656 1003.1 999.5 0.32 135 45 666
Aligarh 60657 998.0 998.3 0.29 127 51 589
Aliganj-
Mainpuri
49648 996.6 1000.7 0.34 135 45 571
Kanpur-
Ghatampur
53656 997.9 999.5 0.381 126 52 442
Locating active faults in the Upper Gangetic Plain 681
T
a
b
le
5
.
T
h
ro
w
d
ir
ec
ti
o
n
,
a
m
o
u
n
t
o
f
th
ro
w
,
a
ss
o
ci
a
te
d
d
ra
in
a
g
e
p
a
tt
er
n
s
a
n
d
te
rm
in
a
l
fa
n
s
fo
r
d
if
fe
re
n
t
in
fe
rr
ed
n
o
rm
a
l
fa
u
lt
s.
N
u
m
er
a
ls
1
,
2
,
et
c.
in
th
e
la
st
co
lu
m
n
a
re
u
se
d
in
fi
g
u
re
3
to
in
d
ic
a
te
d
if
fe
re
n
t
fa
n
s.
N
a
m
e
o
f
th
e
F
a
u
lt
D
ir
ec
ti
o
n
o
f
th
ro
w
A
m
o
u
n
t
o
f
th
ro
w
(m
)
A
ss
o
ci
a
te
d
ra
in
a
g
e
p
a
tt
er
n
*
T
im
e
o
f
la
st
a
ct
iv
it
y
(k
a
)
A
ss
o
ci
a
te
d
te
rm
in
a
l
fa
n
s
M
u
za
ff
a
rn
a
g
a
r
S
5
1
,
2
2
.5
M
u
za
ff
a
rn
a
g
a
r
(1
a
,
E
a
st
;
1
b
,
M
id
d
le
;
1
c,
W
es
t)
M
ee
ru
t
S
1
2
1
,
2
5
.6
B
a
g
h
p
a
t
(2
)
G
h
a
zi
a
b
a
d
S
8
1
–
–
A
li
g
a
rh
S
S
E
1
0
2
,
3
5
.7
K
h
u
rj
a
-A
li
g
a
rh
(3
),
Ig
la
s-
R
a
y
a
(4
)
S
ik
a
n
d
ra
R
a
o
S
S
E
8
1
,
3
,
4
A
li
g
a
n
j-
M
a
in
p
u
ri
N
W
1
2
2
5
.6
K
a
rh
a
l-
B
id
h
u
n
a
(7
),
M
u
h
a
m
m
a
d
a
b
a
d
-B
id
h
u
n
a
(5
)
F
a
te
h
g
a
rh
-E
ta
w
a
h
S
W
1
1
1
,
2
8
.3
S
a
u
ri
k
h
-R
a
su
la
b
a
d
(6
)
K
a
n
n
a
u
j-
B
id
h
u
n
a
S
W
1
4
1
,
2
,
3
,
4
–
–
K
a
n
p
u
r-
G
h
a
ta
m
p
u
r
S
W
1
2
2
,
3
5
.1
K
a
n
p
u
r
(8
)
F
a
te
h
p
u
r
S
W
5
2
,
3
4
.8
a
n
d
3
.4
F
a
te
h
p
u
r-
I
(9
)
a
n
d
-I
I
(1
0
)
k
a
,
k
il
o
-a
n
n
u
m
/1
0
3
y
ea
rs
.
*
1
,
co
n
v
er
g
en
t;
2
,
n
ew
st
re
a
m
s;
3
,
off
se
t;
4
,
d
a
m
m
in
g
o
f
st
re
a
m
s
le
a
d
in
g
to
w
a
te
rl
o
g
g
in
g
o
v
er
la
rg
e
re
g
io
n
s
o
n
u
p
th
ro
w
n
b
lo
ck
s.
682 B. Bhosle et al.
Fatehpur Fault (figure 7(b(ii))). The Delhi Fault offsets the Yamuna River to the
east by 16 km. In the case of inland rivers the Kali River has shifted to the southwest
due to the activity of the Aligarh Fault (figure 7(b(iv))).
The Ganga and Yamuna Rivers are marked by 15–122 km straight stretches,
joined by 6–34 km long cross-stretches. These are interpreted as faults. The Yamuna
River exhibits higher sinuosity than in the adjoining area just upstream of the
Aliganj-Mainpuri Fault (figure 7(b(ii))).
Lakes are mostly confined to the middle and southeastern areas and also along
the fault zones. Lakes commonly occur on the downthrown blocks of the Aligarh,
Aliganj-Mainpuri and Fatehgarh-Etawah Faults. Most of the lakes, if joined
together, appear like past courses of the modern drainage patterns. Oxbow lakes
occur on the upthrown blocks of Fatehpur Fault. The region between the Aliganj-
Mainpuri and Fatehgarh-Etawah Faults is marked by a chain of ponds occurring in
a north–south direction. Flooded areas are not common in the study area, except
those present on the western blocks of the Sikandra Rao and Kannauj-Bidhuna.
5. Discussion
Morphostructures such as ‘scarps’ and ‘significant breaks in slope’ on the DEMs are
regions marked by gentle slopes (0.17–0.47%), as compared to the adjoining areas
Figure 5. Topographic profiles across and parallel to the Muzaffarnagar Fault. Locations
of topographic profiles. (a)–(c) across the fault showing clear-cut breaks (MaTB, MiTB,
Major and Minor Topographic Breaks, respectively) related to the major faults shown as I-III
in figure 3, respectively. (d) A topographic profile parallel to Muzaffarnagar Fault, at a
distance of 2 km from the major fault on the downthrown block. Three small fans, West
Muzaffarnagar Fan (WMF), Middle Muzaffarnagar Fan (MMF) and East Muzaffarnagar
Fan (EMF), can be seen.
Locating active faults in the Upper Gangetic Plain 683
that are marked by very gentle slopes (0.017–0.05%). These features are recognized
in the field by only subtle, but recognizable, slight slope changes and thus are
artifacts in nature rather than true geomorphic features. These ‘morphostructures’
Figure 6. Topographic profiles taken across the inferred faults: (a) Meerut Fault, (b)
Ghaziabad Fault, (c) Aligarh Fault (d) Fatehgarh-Etawah Fault, (e) Kannauj-Bidhuna Fault,
(f) Kanpur-Ghatampur Fault and (g) Allahabad Fault.
684 B. Bhosle et al.
have been very useful in locating faults in the present area and in other regions of the
Gangetic Plains.
Although some transverse faults (i.e. Meerut, Moradabad and Aligarh Faults)
were postulated previously by Kumar et al. (1996) on the basis of drainage patterns,
changes in courses of the major rivers and distribution of soil-geomorphic units,
their location was only broadly given. Khan et al. (1996) inferred the Moradabad
and Lucknow-Kanpur faults by correlation of tube-well lithologs, 65–375 km apart
and changes in sinuosity, floodplain width of major rivers. The locations of the
faults shown by these workers are therefore only approximate. The DEMs of the
region, with high vertical exaggeration, provide fairly satisfactory location of fault
zones, which can be identified in the field, so that further Ground Penetrating Radar
(GPR) studies of the region can be carried out to confirm and elucidate the
subsurface nature of the faults.
Three of the inferred transverse faults (i.e. the Muzaffarnagar, Sikandra Rao and
Kannauj-Bidhuna Faults) have been checked by GPR studies, by taking 180–250 m
long traverses across the faults, using 100 MHz antennae (figure 8(a)). The GPR
investigations give information up to a 10 m depth and show that the top of the
‘scarp’ is underlain by a major normal fault in the case of Muzaffarnagar Fault
(figure 8(b)). In addition, a number of smaller synthetic and/or a few antithetic
normal faults are present on the downthrown block in all the cases studied. Their
number decreases away from the main fault and almost no faults are present beyond
125 m from the main fault.
Figure 7. The effects of activities of faults on drainage. (a) (i) KGFt, Kanpur-Ghatampur
Fault; (ii) KBFt, Kannauj-Bidhuna Fault; (iii) MuFt, Muzaffarnagar Fault; (iv) MFt, Meerut
Fault; (v) GhFt, Ghaziabad Fault; (b) (i) FEFt, Fatehgarh-Etawah Fault; (ii) FFt, Fatehpur
Fault; (iii) AMFt, Aliganj-Mainpuri Fault; (iv) AFt, Aligarh Fault.
Locating active faults in the Upper Gangetic Plain 685
5.1 The nature of the faults
As mentioned earlier, the curvilinear bounding Ganga and Yamuna Faults are
longitudinal faults. In addition, compression from the southwest and west was
inferred from the tilting of large tectonic blocks based on the distribution of soils
(Srivastava et al. 1994, Kumar et al. 1996). Parkash et al. (2000) modelled these
faults using a finite element approach. They used compression from the west and
southwest and restraining effects of the shield region in the south and subsurface
north–south trending Aravalli-Delhi massif occurring just west of the Yamuna
River and obtained surficial patterns very similar to those of the major faults. These
faults have been recognized as longitudinal faults in a compressional regime and
other faults (such as Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Aligarh, Khurja, Ghaziabad, Kanpur-
Ghatampur, Aliganj-Mainpuri, Fatehgarh-Etawah, Kannauj-Bidhuna and
Allahabad Faults) occurring at large angles to these faults as transverse faults
occurring in an extensional regime and considered to be normal in nature. As these
faults are affecting surfaces with ages less than 10 ka (Bhosle et al. 2008), these faults
are active in nature (Nakata 1989). Figure 9 gives a diagrammatic sketch showing
linkage between longitudinal and transverse faults.
The Delhi oblique fault on the Interfluve offsets the Yamuna River course by
16 km and forms a northwest continuation with a straight segment of the Ganga
Faults, which confines the Ganga River course for about 145 km (figures 2 and 3). In
addition, the Delhi fault probably confined the course of the Yamuna River during
the period 7–2.40 ka, forming the Yamuna Paleochannel (figure 3).
Rao (1973) considered longitudinal faults such as the Ganga Fault and Yamuna
Fault as normal based on extensive seismic surveys. Parkash et al. (2000) suggested
that as they formed in a compressional regime, they could possibly be thrust/reverse
faults. As the basement is bending downwards towards the north and ultimately
being underthrusted along with overlying sediments below the Himalayan Frontal
Fault, bending of the basement should give rise to normal faults, which may
propagate through the overlying sediments to the surface and seen as the Ganga and
Yamuna faults. Our GPR studies indicating the normal nature of the Solani-II Fault
Figure 8. (a) Location map of the GPR traverse. (b) 100 MHz GPR profile. After Bhosle
et al. (2007).
COLOUR
FIGURE
686 B. Bhosle et al.
in the northeastern part of the study area, subparallel to the Ganga longitudinal
fault, also support this view.
Use of variations in drainage for identifying transverse normal faults can be
understood in the context of ideas developed recently from experimental and field
studies of normal faults. The development and nature of faults associated with
extensional tectonic regime has been investigated by several workers (dePolo et al.
1991, Machette et al. 1991, Gawthorpe and Leeder 2000). Three stages of fault
growth have been deciphered. In the first stage (fault initiation), numerous small
displacement faults and growth folds define isolated depocentres (dePolo et al. 1991,
Machette et al. 1991). In the second stage (interaction and linkage), normal faults
are segmented along the strike and these segments join to form a major fault zone
and transverseanticline (upthrown block), which defines the displacement maxima
and syncline (downthrown block), which defines the displacement minima. In the
third stage (through-going), rupturing takes place and an increase in the
displacement rate on the central part of the fault. Movements produced by the
activity of the growing faults affect the topography and modify the drainage
(Jackson and Leeder 1994; figure 10).
Small subparallel streams join together on meeting an obstruction (anticline)
forming a convergent drainage pattern (figure 10(a, b)). As streams do not continue
over the anticline, their course on the downthrow side gives the impression of initiation
of new streams as observed in case of Aligarh and Kannauj-Bidhuna Faults
(figure 10(b, c)). Some streams on encountering the anticline (striking almost
perpendicular to the stream course) associated with upthrown blocks of faults turn
by 90u and cross the fault along the synclinal axis, forming an offset stream pattern.
These changes in drainage pattern are probably related to different stages of the
development of normal transverse faults (figure 10). For example, the Sengar River,
which was flowing east, turned to the south to meet the Yamuna River when the
Kanpur-Ghatampur Fault was encountered. This is also the case for the Arind and
Sengar Rivers due to activity of the Kanpur-Ghatampur and Fatehpur Faults,
respectively (figure 7(a(i)), (b(ii))). Blocking of the river courses due to the development
of an anticline on the upthrown block leads to an increase in the sinuosity of streams on
that block as shown by the Yamuna River upstream side of the Kanpur-Ghatampur
and Aliganj-Mainpuri Faults (figure 7(a(i)), (b(iii))). Some blocked streams also show
Figure 9. Diagrammatic sketch showing development of longitudinal and transverse normal
faults in the study area. GLFT, Ganga Longitudinal Fault; YLFT, Yamuna Longitudinal
Fault; MBT, Main Boundary Thrust; HFT, Himalayan Frontal Thrust; TFT, Transverse
Fault; TF, Terminal Fan.
Locating active faults in the Upper Gangetic Plain 687
widening upstream of the anticline and narrowing on cutting through the anticline
(River Ganga on the upthrown block of Meerut and Allahabad Faults, River Yamuna
on the upthrown block of Aligarh Fault). The region between two closely spaced
normal transverse faults (Aliganj-Mainpuri and Fatehgarh-Etawah Faults) is marked
by numerous ponds in its central part and trending in the north–south direction
(figure 11). These probably formed because of the anticlines close to the faults and
resulted in a central depressed region on which the lakes developed.
Normally, transverse faults seem to have developed randomly. However, if a
basement fault occurs approximately in the direction of the expected transverse fault,
reactivation of the basement fault has taken place, as in the case of the subsurface
Moradabad and Kanpur Faults (figure 1; Karunakaran and Ranga Rao 1976).
Visualization of the morphology of the region in the form of DEMs showing
artefactual morphostructures such as ‘scarps’ and ‘significant breaks in slopes’
(figure 4(a)–(g)), in combination with the deposition of terminal fans (figure 3) and
changes in drainage pattern (incisions, changes in sinuosity, offsetting and
development of convergent drainage), suggests that the downthrown sides of the
faults are towards the south and east in the northern and southern regions of the
Interfluve, respectively.
We have conducted an integrated study of the drainage features, DEMs and
geomorphic mapping using remote sensing data to locate active faults in a flat area
where no single ‘stand-alone’ method can provide unambiguous results.
Furthermore, the analysis of drainage features related to small inland streams is a
rapid and easy method as a starting point, as drainage features are highly sensitive
to weak neotectonic movements.
Figure 10. Model showing evolution of fault (Stage I to Stage III), development of
convergent and offset drainage in the study area due to the activities of the faults (modified
from Jackson and Leeder 1994).
688 B. Bhosle et al.
6. Conclusions
From the current study we can draw the following conclusions:
(1) Visual interpretation of DEMs, along with analysis of drainage patterns
from topographic maps/satellite images and distribution of terminal fans
mapped using satellite images, proved to be very useful in deciphering active
faults in an almost flat plain.
(2) The DEMs provide a fairly accurate location of transverse fault zones,
which can be identified in the field and used for detailed investigations by
GPR for confirming and understanding the subsurface nature of faults.
(3) The identified transverse normal faults present excellent examples of
extensional normal fault development in an overall compressional tectonic
regime.
(4) Most of the faults are characterized by deposition of terminal fans on the
downthrown blocks, which present good material for dating the paleoseis-
mic events associated with activity of the faults.
Acknowledgements
This work was carried out as part of a research project sanctioned to B.P. and
A.K.A. from the Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi. B.B. thanks
the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), India for a research
fellowship. We thank Prof. A. K. Saraf for constructive discussions and Prof. D. C.
Srivastava for suggestions to improve the text. We are indebted to Dr Mike J. Smith
(Kingston University, UK) and an unknown reviewer for critical comments that
helped us to improve the manuscript significantly. Sincere thanks are due to
Vivekanand Acharya for making available GPR profiles across two faults in the
study area.
Figure 11. Model showing development of a low-lying area with numerous ponds between
closely spaced normal, transverse faults.
Locating active faults in the Upper Gangetic Plain 689
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